Total Eclipse: An Asari Commando Novel
by RED78910
Summary: It's been said Illium is just Omega with expensive shoes. Well, after being deployed to both places Captain Allyna T'Nira couldn't help but agree. Follow her and the rest of Null Squad as they take on the most dangerous enemies the Terminus Systems has to offer.
1. Prologue: A Boring Evening

**Definitions:**

 _Ad'ika:_ Kid, lad, boy, sweetie, darling, son, daughter, child, etc.

 _Ner vod_ : "My brother/sister." Colloquially also "my friend."

 _Di'Kut_ : Context dependent. Can mean fool, idiot, useless individual, etc.

 _Udesii_ : "Calm down" or "take it easy."

 _Fierfek_ : Do I need to say it?

 _Vor entye_ : "Thank you." Literally: "I accept a debt."

 **Disclaimer: Mass Effect is the property of EA and Bioware. I do not own it, or any other movie, video game, song, book, or any other form of media I may reference in this story, and I make no money off of its publication. This work is entirely fictional. Any characters that may bear resemblance to any persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. Any opinions or beliefs expressed in this story are purely those of the character and not necessarily those of the author.**

* * *

 **Total Eclipse: An Asari Commando Novel**

 **Nos Astra, Illium. 2175. 2120 Local Time.**

There were very few things in life that were truly universal. Few things that could be said with absolute certainty, no matter what planet you were on, what species you were, or what your job was. There were simply so many different types of people and situations out there that is was nearly impossible to make an absolutist statement without being proven wrong somehow.

But one thing that _could_ be said with absolute certainty, the Matriarch wiping down the bar counter for the twelfth time in the last hour was sure, was that the first day back from a weekend was always the slowest night to work.

Unless it was recently a pay day, all the beings who might normally go out and spend money decided, for whatever reason, to simply stay home and recuperate from their first day at work since their two or three day break began.

This was why, the Matriarch was certain, she had not had a customer in over an hour, and probably only had barely enough patrons this night to cover the operating costs. The silence except for the soft music playing was deafening to the old asari.

This was why, as she stared out into the empty bar, the Matriarch dressed in a dark green robe simply decided to say 'fuck it' and call it a night, despite closing time not being for another 40 minutes.

The bar itself was actually fairly spacious, with many dozens of tables in the center of the establishment, booths lining much of the walls, and even a small VIP area in the back. There was a long bar counter directly across from where the main entrance to the establishment was located. There were even large windows that had automated shading built into them to allow the patrons to enjoy the breathtaking view of the Nos Astra skyline.

At intervals of 5 or 10 meters along the walls there were elevated and fenced off tables where scantily clad asari would dance, and private rooms were available in the back for those who were willing to pay to see a little extra, though they of course wouldn't be allowed anything more than a good look unless the dancer in question wanted it.

The Matriarch who owned the Eternity Bar was many things, but she was no pimp. She made sure everyone knew to treat her people well, otherwise they might just not make it home that night. Or any other night for that matter.

Said Matriarch put down her rag, raised her hands to her mouth, and called out to the only other being in the bar, "Hey Alaya, go home!"

Alaya, a dancer on the opposite end of the bar walking slowly around her table, turned to look at her boss and climbed off it.

Despite the fact she knew she had heard her employer correctly the young asari called out even as she walked toward the bar, "You sure Aethyta?"

Matriarch Aethyta nodded and said as the dancer was about halfway to her, "Yeah, nobody else is coming in tonight. May as well go back home to your Turian boy toy."

The dancer made a disgusted sigh as she walked up to the bar, but despite her obvious anger at something, Aethyta couldn't help but admire the Maiden.

Without a doubt, Alaya was the most attractive dancer Aethyta had in her current employ, and was also by far the most attractive she had seen in a _very_ long time. With her full breasts, narrow waist, well rounded hips, and royal blue skin, she could make even the most asexual Salarian want a night or two with her.

 _Goddess damnit_ ad'ika, _if we were just a_ few _centuries closer in age…_

Aethyta sighed and let go of the thought. Much as she may wish she could, trying to get intimate with one of her dancers, even ones she was friends with (and especially ones who were in a relationship anyway), would only end badly for everyone involved.

As Alaya walked up to the counter she put her hands on her hips and reported angrily, "Lucius and me are done. Kicked the bastard out last night. If he ever comes back here again, I can't be held responsible for my actions."

Aethyta gave her an apprehensive look and asked, "Why? What happened?"

Alaya gave a bitter laugh, "I caught him cheating on me, if you can believe that. With a Quarian even!" Alaya began to pace and throw her hands about as she went on, "At first he did the whole 'it's not what it looks like' bit, and when I nearly took his head off with a Warp he _finally_ told me the truth. That he needed someone he could at least eat the same food as. Someone who wouldn't stay young while he grew old and his body fell apart. And worst of all, someone he could be intimate with not have to worry about DNA cross contamination sickness!"

Alaya came to a stop in front of Aethyta, put her hands on the counter, and said in a low and defeated voice, "And you know what the worst part of it is? If he had actually been honest with me and told me how he felt, told me what he needed and had been upfront about it we could probably have worked it out. Maybe, if he really wanted it, thought it through and decided that's what he would need, he could have brought someone else into our relationship I probably would have been alright with that too."

Aethyta, despite the severity of the situation, couldn't help but chuckle and ask, "Really?"

Alaya smirked, "Well, to be fair to him, the Quarian he was with was pretty damn hot. Never thought I'd get to see one without their suit on."

Aethyta nodded and smiled as she remembered some of her encounters with the species she had when she was young, "Yeah. I tell you what _ad'ika,_ far as I'm concerned the worst thing that ever happened to the Quarians was when the Geth nearly wiped them out. Not because they lost their homeworld, but because so few from then on would ever see just how Goddess damned gorgeous they are."

Letting out one last wistful sigh the Matriarch asked, "Anything I can do to help? Believe it or not I know a thing or two about getting your heart broken."

Alaya smiled but shook her head, "Thanks, but I think I'm just gonna go home, sit down on my couch, and drink till it's time for me to go back on tomorrow night. Doubt I'll need much help with that."

Though she knew Alaya was at least partially joking, Aethyta still reached across the bar, put her hand on the Maiden's shoulder, and said in a very serious voice, "And you can do that all you like _ad'ika,_ but trust me, you do that too much and it _will_ lead you down a path you don't want to travel."

Alaya laughed and replied, "I know Aethyta, I know. Just teasing. Besides, I need to get that cheating bastard off my mind somehow right?"

Aethyta shrugged, "Fair enough. Still, remember what I said. Boozing can only help for so long before it just makes everything worse."

Alaya smiled, "Well, thanks for the advice. If that's really everything, I'll be off now."

Alaya made her way over to the door that lead to the dressing room, and Aethyta couldn't help but stare as her perfect hips swayed side to side as she walked away.

As Alaya disappeared behind the door Aethyta sighed again and said out loud to remind herself, "She ain't that kind of kid, and you respect her too much to try anything with her. It ain't worth it Aeth."

Resolving herself to her lonely and boring evening alone, Aethyta quickly closed down the bar and headed home.

* * *

A few minutes later Aethyta exited her sky car on the side of a deserted and dimly lit street in front of her apartment, punched a few commands into her omni-tool to command the VI to take her vehicle to the parking garage she rented from, and was about to head inside when something off on the horizon caught her eye.

A sky car was fast approaching her position, racing across the sky far faster than was allowed even by Illium's lax traffic laws. The vehicle appeared to be badly damaged, as not only was there smoke coming from the thrusters of the craft, but even from where Aethyta was standing she could hear a low clanking sound normally made only by broken garbage disposals coming from the vehicle.

As the sky car came closer to her street, Aethyta watched with a sense of awe and horror as it slowly began to descend, despite the driver constantly pulling up and swerving the craft to attempt to get it to stay in the air.

Eventually, the driver wisely gave up, and instead of staying in the air the driver attempted to land the craft.

They did not succeed.

As the descended the last 20 meters the vehicle simply gave out, and Aethyta watched helpless as the sky car slammed onto the ground in a loud crash and tossed and turned and skidded along the road until finally coming to a stop about 10 meters across from where Aethyta was still standing.

The Matriarch was about to call for an ambulance when something she least expected to happen occurred: a fairly short asari in the standard yellow and black armor of an Eclipse soldier emerged from the driver's side of the car and ran over to the passenger's side. On the back of the mercenary was a Batarian Harpoon Gun sniper rifle that was nearly as big as she was.

Aethyta didn't know why, but something compelled her to go over and help the mercenary. She knew it may well cause her more grief than it was worth, but in her heart she just knew it was the right thing to do. And Aethyta always did what her heart told her to, for better or for worse.

As she neared the soldier's position, the mercenary tried desperately to open the car door, but to no avail. Stepping back a few feet, the asari's body lit up with biotic energy and she simply tore the car door off, displaying another asari in the passenger seat, though she seemed to be badly injured judging from the blood coming from her shredded armor.

Aethyta was soon close enough to hear the first asari as she spoke into her omni-tool after surveying her comrade's situation, "This is Specialist Cyessa Tasia, I need _immediate_ medevac at coordinates 445329 by 0345823. _Hurry!"_

Closing her omni-tool, Cyessa did her best to comfort her companion, who was somehow still awake after going through a car accident and apparently a firefight judging by her armor.

Cyessa said in a panicked voice as she searched her pockets for anything that might aid her comrade, "Hang in there _ner vod,_ helps on the way."

Aethyta's breath stopped for a moment as she sat down next to Cyessa. Hearing that phrase took her back to one desperate day back in her youth. A day not that different from this one now that Aethyta thought about it.

Aethyta didn't hesitate a moment more and examined the asari still in the car. The asari had several holes in stomach, probably made by an assault rifle with armor piercing rounds or a significant amount of killing power. Despite the crash she didn't seem to have any other wounds.

The asari had dark brown eyes, medium to dark blue skin and pale blue facial markings around her eyes and across her brow. She was of average height for an asari Maiden, probably standing about 1.8 meters. At her side, still magnetized to her armor, was a Locust SMG. Aethyta could even see a knife encased in a gauntlet on the wounded asari's left forearm.

Cyessa, the other asari, looked a bit different. She was rather short, probably only about 1.6 or 1.7 meters on a good day. She had had teal colored skin, a fairly rare tone for asari, and dark blue eyes. What stood out most about her, however, were her facial markings.

Whereas most asari's facial markings were usually just random bits of skin pigmentation, the midnight blue markings on her face were far too detailed to be anything other than tattoos. They consisted of a single circle with cross-hairs on her left cheek, a three ringed bullseye on her right, and three horizontal lines centered across her brow, each one shorter as they went up, forming a broad pyramid with a single vertical line through their center, flush with the bottom and protruding slightly above the top line, obviously representing a rifle's open sights.

Not wasting anymore time, the Matriarch took the knife from the injured soldier's arm, cut the restraints keeping her in place, and immediately threw up a Stasis field.

Turning back to Cyessa Aethyta yelled, "Follow me!"

Biotically carrying the wounded asari as if she were on a stretcher, Aethyta quickly lead Cyessa over to the building she lived in and entered her apartment, which was thankfully on the first floor of the building.

The Matriarch opened the door to her dwelling and Cyessa followed. The room was small, with only a few meters between the door and the couch that was set against a wall just in front of a small table. On the wall facing the couch was a small vid-screen. Immediately to the right of the couch was a open door that lead to the bedroom. To the left of the couch was a small kitchen.

Dirty clothes littered the floor and were in heaps nearly half a meter thick in some places. Dirty dishes two or three days old soaked in equally old water, and dirty plates covered in half eaten food coated the table by the couch.

Aethyta knew this was probably the worst place to try to save a person's life, but there was no alternative. If she had left the asari in the car, she would have died.

Walking over to the couch, Aethyta elevated the injured soldier directly over it, looked over to Cyessa, and asked in a tone that made it clear saying 'no' would probably mean her friend's death, "I assume you can hold a Stasis field for a few minutes?"

Cyessa nodded and Aethyta responded, "Great, because I'm gonna need you to hold your friend here while I go get a first aide kit. Won't have much, but it just might be able to keep her from dying. Ready?"

Cyessa nodded, and Aethyta gently let her field die. Before the injured soldier was on the couch though, Cyessa had her enveloped in a field of her own. In any other situation, Aethyta would have complimented her on such a quick display.

Such as it was, Aethyta rushed over to the kitchen, biotically pulled a first aide that was on top of her refrigerator over to her, and dashed back to the couch. Setting the kit down, Aethyta opened it and began to pull out the needed supplies. Including a bottle of antiseptic, a series of bandages and pads, and a small amount of medi-gel.

Turning back to Cyessa, Aethyta spoke in an urgent voice as she began to sterilize her hands, " _Ad'ika_ in about 10 seconds I'm gonna need you to release that field without having her drop. I've got to get her armor off and get the bleeding stopped, which might take a bit. Think you can do that?"

Cyessa again nodded, and on Aethyta's signal, let go of the Stasis field while keeping her friend suspended.

Aethyta immediately undid the clasps of the asari's chest plate, letting the bottom half fall and throwing the top one aside. Under the outer layer of armor was a layer of mesh material that had failed to do it's job of absorbing what the outer layer failed to.

Pulling the mesh aside, Aethyta saw the asari's stomach had a cluster of at least 4 bullet wounds, all of which were bleeding profusely. After pouring antiseptic over the wounds the Matriarch applied several large pads of gauze and then bandages over the asari. Once that was done, Aethyta injected the small amount of medi-gel she had into the injured soldier to help with the pain.

As she tossed the empty container aside, Aethyta the went into her bedroom and took the cleanest blanket she had and went back to the living room. Pulling the slab of armor underneath the injured asari away, Aethyta signaled for Cyessa to, very slowly, lower her friend down. Once she was on the couch, Aethyta covered her with the blanket.

Once that was done, Aethyta knelt beside the wounded soldier and asked Cyessa, "Any word on when help's getting here?"

Cyessa nodded and said loudly enough so she knew her friend could hear, "Yep. Our team radioed in asking for us, and I told them exactly where we are."

Walking up to her friend Cyessa put her hand on the other Eclipse member's shoulder, "Here that _ner vod?_ Everything's gonna fine."

The injured soldier somehow managed to give a small smile at that and replied in a sarcastic voice, "Easy for you to say. You don't have four bullets burning in your gut right now!"

Although the situation was far from funny, all three actually managed at least a chuckle at that.

Looking at the person who had just saved her friend's life, Cyessa asked if she could know her name.

Aethyta reached out with a blood coated hand and answered, "Matriarch Aethyta Nuranis, of Clan Ravanor."

Cyessa smiled, gripped Aethyta's forearm tightly, and introduced herself, "Specialist Cyessa Tasia, of Clan Talyth."

The injured asari on the couch managed to sigh and asked, "Goddess, _another_ Krogan asari? Where do you people come from?"

Aethyta smirked, "Lusia."

Cyessa then pointed to her injured friend, "And this little one here is Sergeant Elzia Grassi. You seem to know her inside and out by now."

Aethyta nodded and asked, "Indeed. Still, if you don't mind telling me, just how did the two of you get into this mess?"

Cyessa sighed and began to explain, "Well, a few kilometers from here there was a hostage situation in the headquarters of some major corporation based here. Ours and another squad run by some hotshot _di'kut_ named Enyala got called in when the local police couldn't do their jobs.

"Anyway, our team was getting into position on the top level of the building when one of the hostages was executed. Instead of waiting and sticking to the plan, Enyala ordered her team to move in, despite ours not being in position yet. We had to move a lot faster to get to where the hostages were located, and as a result of Enyala's _brilliant_ tactics, they were waiting for us."

Cyessa's voice and face darkened as she said, "In the ensuing firefight a lot of the hostages didn't make it out. Those that did we managed to cover as they fled to the parking lot on one of the upper levels of the building. As the last of them fled we started facing the worst resistance the enemy had to offer, and as a result Elzia here got hit. The rest of our team covered me as I hacked the controls of that sky car outside and tried to make it to the hospital. Problem was, the enemy shot it to bits and I'm amazed I was able to get it as far as I did. I crashed, and that's when you showed up."

Aethyta let out a long sigh, "Damn, sounds like you two had a Hell of a night."

Elzia managed to say, "Eh, had better, had worse. Long as I don't die here I'll call it a win. Rule 45: Any crash you walk away from, or in this case at least _survive,_ is a good one."

Cyessa reassured, "You're not gonna die today _ner vod._ Allyna and the others will be here any-"

There was a loud knock on the door, with a voice calling out, "Cyessa! Elzia! You two in there?"

Cyessa looked over at Elzia and said, "See? I told you."

Aethyta went over to her door and opened it, only to be greeted by having an Acolyte pistol shoved into her face.

The asari holding the weapon was nearly as tall as the Matriarch was, standing about 2.1 meters tall. She had no facial markings, light green eyes, and a lavender hued blue skin tone. On her right arm there was a piece of armor missing from her shoulder to her elbow showing off a gunshot wound which had a bandage over it.

Aethyta put her hands up and the lavender asari said in a low and threatening tone, "Back up slowly. If I see any hints of biotics, I'm pulling the trigger. We clear?"

Aethyta nodded and began to walk backwards, careful not to trip over the piles of clothes scattered about the room.

Upon seeing her Captain holding a gun to Aethyta's head Cyessa screamed out, "Allyna _udesii!_ She's a friendly! What the _fierfek_ are you doing?"

Allyna said as she kept her weapon pointed at Aethyta, "All I know is three of my team, including me, have been shot, most of the people we were supposed to rescue are dead, and you somehow manage to crash into one of the most violent districts in the city. I don't know this person, or what she might do. Rule Two: when in doubt, assume they're a hostile."

As Allyna spoke two more asari came through the door. The first was of average height, had grey eyes, skin a tone of medium blue bordering on teal, and white facial markings that were a series of vertical lines resembling the spires that made up Illium's skyline on both sides of her face. She carried a Kassa Fabrication Breaker assault rifle.

Aethyta assumed she was a medic, as she immediately went to where Elzia was lying and examined her injuries.

The second asari was again nearly as tall as Aethyta, easily at over 2 meters in height. She had dark blue eyes, deep violet skin and white facial markings on her cheeks that consisted of swirling, interlocking circles. Markings that at a distance looked like a sledgehammer and pick. She secured the room with a Rosenkov Kovalyov assault rifle.

What stood out most this asari however was how muscular she was. Her arms and legs were larger than that of any asari Aethyta had ever seen, just barely fitting into the armor the Matriarch guessed had to be specially made for her. Her torso was also wide and bulky, clearly used to doing vast amounts of heavy lifting.

 _Goddess dammit, just what are they_ feeding _kids these days?_

Cyessa asked in a worried voice, "Wait? Where's Arla?"

Allyna reported, "She's waiting for us out in the gunship. She got hit in the leg."

"How bad?"

Allyna sighed, "She'll live, but that's all I can say so far." The pistol wielding asari then asked, "How is she?"

Aethyta, who was doing a surprisingly good job of maintaining her composure, began, "She's stable for now, but you really should-"

Allyna shouted, "I wasn't talking to you!" Glancing briefly over to the couch Allyna rephrased, " _Raria,_ how is she?"

Raria, the squad medic, responded, "Just like she said. She'll live if we can get her treatment soon, but we need to move."

Allyna nodded, "OK people, we're leaving." Turning over to the muscular asari Allyna ordered, "Leria, you take point. Raria will stay beside me while I lift Elzia out. Cyessa, cover our backs. Be ready to move on my mark."

The squad readied their weapons, with Leria heading over to the door and the other two standing by their injured squadmate.

Allyna looked Aethyta in the eye, took a deep breath, holstered her pistol, and spoke, "I'm sorry we had to meet like this. Believe it or not, normally I'm not _quite_ this much of a bitch."

Offering her hand to the Matriarch, Allyna gave her a regretful look and introduced herself, "Allyna T'Nira. Eclipse Captain."

Aethyta smiled and shook her hand, "Aethyta Nuranis, of Clan Ravanor. Asari Matriarch."

Allyna nodded, "Well then Matriarch, if I ever wanted to thank you for saving Elzia's life, what would be the best way to do that?"

Aethyta said, "Easy; you and your people here just come down to Eternity Bar and buy a few drinks, and we'll call it even. It's just a few blocks away from the Nos Astra trading district. You can't miss it. Remember though, it's the Eternity _Bar,_ not the Eternity _Brothel._ A lot of people get us mixed up."

Allyna nodded as she went over to the couch and biotically lifted Elzia, "I'll be sure to stop by sometime then."

The Captain and her people then moved out of the apartment, but before Cyessa had left she turned back, looked at Aethyta, and wholeheartedly said, " _Vor entye,"_ before heading out with the rest of her team.

Aethyta smirked as the door closed behind them, "Don't mention it _ad'ika."_

With that, the Matriarch turned back to her apartment, squared her shoulders for the task ahead, and began to clean up her home.

It really said something about Aethyta that the bloodstain on her couch was the easiest mess to get rid of that night.

* * *

 **A/N** : So, this is _not_ the main story I am trying to work on right now (that one is _progressing_ , but it's going Very slowly, and I guess I needed something else to focus on). This also may or may not continue, depending on how I feel and how my life and main project goes. Still, I've had this scene in my head for a while now and it just wouldn't leave me alone, so here you all go.

I would also be remiss if I did not send a thank you to the author **Desert Sunrise** for helping me come up with the commando OC's in this chapter way back when. **DS,** you are awesome!

As an aside, the title is something of an homage to "Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel" by Karen Traviss, an author I highly recommend. Her "Republic Commando" series has had a huge influence on and been a major inspiration for me.

Please review!


	2. Null Squad

**Notes:**

 _Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum_ : "I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal." Daily remembrance of those passed on, followed by the names of those being remembered.

 _Vode:_ Brothers/Sisters, comrades. Plural form of the word " _vod_."

LLD: Light Limited Duty.

Also, a special thank you goes out to **LogicalPremise** for allowing me to include Warp Swords in this story. We only get a mention of them here, but rest assured, we will get to have plenty of Saber combat later in this story. If I ever get around to writing it of course.

* * *

" _I just have the_ Best _luck with the people in my teams sometimes. Right now I'm in charge of a zealot who thinks every fight out there is their own, a psychopath who probably has Daddy Issues, a borderline sociopath who might have a breakdown at any minute, and a fool who doesn't have a serious bone in her entire body. Hell, the only 'normal' one in our team right now is a Goddess Damned Asari/Krogan/Elcore Chimera!_

" _Doesn't matter though. These are my people. My_ Friends. _My...my_ Sisters. _And you know what? Not a_ single _one of them is going to die under_ my _command. I won't allow it."_

\- Captain Allyna T'Nira, private journal.

* * *

 **En route to Eclipse Base.**

Allyna sat in the gunship and looked at her squad. Right in front of her on the isles of the craft, in a Stasis field Allyna herself was holding to increase her chances of surviving, was Elzia. Directly across of the Captain was Lt. Arla Selemi.

Arla was about as tall as Allyna, had gold colored eyes, light pale blue skin, and deep blue facial markings. The markings themselves were in the form of two lightning bolts as 'eyebrows' and wavy lines representing wind on each side of her face that angled upward across each jawbone. She also had a narrow stripe, called an 'Athame Stripe', centered on her lower lip and cascading down until it barely rolled under the point of her chin.

The armor normally covering her right thigh had been removed when Raria had treated her injury, which consisted of a high powered sniper round through her leg. The armor had been obliterated, and the layer of mesh under armor was shredded. Arla was extremely fortunate an artery hadn't been severed.

Still, despite her luck in surviving the mission, Allyna could easily tell her second in command was anything but happy.

Her eyes were filled with such fury as to be nearly glowing, her breathing was heavy and deliberate, and a deep scowl covered her face.

Allyna sighed and looked away. She knew Arla had taken what had happened tonight the hardest out of all of them. Every commando of Null Squad had been shaken up to see those civilians die, but the sad and cold hard truth was that sometimes there was just no way to save everyone. That 'collateral damage' was sometimes simply unavoidable, no matter how hard you tried to prevent it.

Allyna understood this. Raria understood this. Leria, Elzia, and even Cyessa even understood it.

Arla however, did not. And it had caused her no end of grief over her long career as a soldier. Allyna felt sorry for her friend for putting herself through such pain, but in the end, there was really nothing she could do for her.

If Arla couldn't learn to accept that sometimes missions went bad and innocents died, then Allyna simply could not help her.

Sighing, she turned to her left toward to where Raria was sitting, and where Leria was piloting the ship just beyond her.

The medic had a sullen look on her face, but Allyna knew it was most likely due to seeing her friends injured than anything else. Not for lack of caring of course, but simply due to the fact those lost were not known to the young asari.

In this line of work, it was often very hard after a while to have any real remorse for seeing someone die if you didn't know them well. For the most part and for most people at least.

 _And it's usually about that time when you should start looking for a new career. Still, who am I to talk? I never really did care much about anything but the mission did I?_

Turning to her right, Allyna saw Cyessa leaning back against the craft, breathing softly. Her eyes were closed, and she had calm expression on her face. If Allyna didn't know better, she would say her squad's sniper was asleep.

Allyna had to admire Cyessa for being able to compartmentalize all of what she had seen so far tonight, but a part of the Captain just knew this was all eating away at the young teal asari. Seeing your best friend nearly die in front of you would affect even the most battle hardened veteran.

 _Well, as long as they had something resembling a sole anyway._

Leria then called out, "Setting her down now! Get ready, they've got a medical team on standby!"

The squad then all readied themselves as they felt the gunship touchdown, collecting their weapons and Allyna preparing to lift the wounded soldier when the medical personnel arrived. The ramp on the end of the craft opened, and an asari dressed in a white and light pink colored coat charged into the ship pushing a hovering medical pod ahead of her.

As soon as she was close enough, Allyna lifted Elzia into the pod, and the other asari descended the ramp and rushed Elzia off to receive proper treatment.

Cyessa was the first one out, followed by Raria and Leria, the latter of whom had to be signaled to move by Allyna when she hesitated to move due to the lack of space and not wanting to disturb Arla.

As soon as the massive asari had exited the craft Allyna stood and offered a hand to Arla, which the other asari refused to take.

Arla stated in an irritated voice as she tried to stand, "I can walk!"

As soon as she stood up though, the lieutenant immediately fell onto the floor of the gunship and cried out in pain as she gripped her injured leg.

Allyna sighed, shook her head, and knelt down beside her friend, "Obviously you can't. So, do you want me to _help_ you walk out of here, or would you like me to carry you out? I'm good with either option honestly."

Arla sighed and put up her right hand, "Fine."

Allyna smirked and helped Arla up. As she supported the other asari over her left shoulder and they began to walk out of the ship she said, "There, see? Not so bad having to rely on others for help every now and again, is it?"

Arla just grumbled as she grabbed her primary weapon, an M-97 Viper sniper rifle, and slowly led the pair as they descended down the ramp and into the arms of an awaiting medical team.

Allyna took Arla's sniper rifle in her good arm as she was loaded into a hovering medical chair and sent off to the base hospital. Allyna just sighed watching her go as a medic checked her injury. Allyna barely noticed. She was too busy observing the flurry of activity around the base.

The base itself was a vast facility. It was shaped in a roughly oval design and was several kilometers in diameter. Built around the base was a metal fence nearly two meters thick and twenty meters high. At one hundred meter intervals were towers thirty meters high that had AA guns atop them and soldiers manning machine guns inside them.

The buildings inside the base were not the usually elegant and beautifully designed structures normally associated with the asari. Instead, the four barracks blocks located at the four ends of the base were simple large, ugly block towers. Each was about eighty meters long and wide, and about two hundred and fifty meters tall. They were all equipped with their own defenses, including AA turrets on the roof, blast doors that sealed all doors and windows in case of emergency, and each had enough food and water to last several months in the event of a siege.

All of these were controlled by a single control center located in the center room of each of the buildings. The base's mess hall, two gymnasiums, administration/headquarters, and hospital all had similar designs and defenses.

From her centralized location in the base landing pad, Allyna could see all of them. All around her were nearly fifty gunships arranged in perfect formation. Some were being loaded with troops about to deploy on various missions, while others were being worked on by Eclipse mechanics. Others still were landing and offloading personnel, some of whom were injured, and others who had sadly been killed in action.

It always amazed Allyna how things in her line of work never ceased. There was always some fight going on. Always some mission that needed to be completed. Always some team or unit deployed somewhere. And with a unit as big as the one she was in currently, Allyna knew that their battalion's size only meant larger numbers of missions, deployments, and sadly, more losses.

Allyna and her team were currently attached to an infantry battalion the Nos Astran government (if you could call a group of corporate executives a governing body) had hired to remain permanently stationed on Illium and help keep and maintain law and order not only in the city, but in the wider system as well.

The battalion itself was currently at full strength with nearly a thousand combat ready troops, almost all of whom were asari. In addition to those, there were also about a hundred commandos divided into teams of various sizes that were sent out on missions either to support the battalion when it was deployed or, more often, on their own separate missions across the galaxy. There were also several hundred support personnel such as the cooks, mechanics, and medical staff who kept the unit functioning. These however were merely contractors, and were not members of Eclipse themselves.

One such contractor was just finishing up with Allyna's arm when another asari dressed in standard Eclipse armor appeared in front of the Captain.

Allyna scowled as soon as she saw her. _Great, just who I_ didn't _want to see. This is gonna be_ fun.

The asari had cyan skin, blueish green eyes, no facial markings, a fairly slender build, and was a few centimeters shorter than Allyna.

Allyna huffed as the other asari came close enough to hear, "Major."

Major Irri Camas, the commander of the battalion, nodded and greeted Allyna as the contractor walked off, "Nice to see you made it out alright T'Nira. Based off what Enyala said happened out there and the amount of resistance you were up against, I wasn't sure even _you_ could have survived."

Allyna glared at the major and reported, "Yeah, well it wouldn't have been like that if the stupid bitch had stuck to the plan! Most of the hostages died while she and her team played hero, and one of my people almost bought it out there."

Irri nodded and responded, "I know. Enyala reported her failure and the...unfortunate end most of the civilians met. Still, despite everything, the most important hostages survived and were able to evacuate."

If Allyna wasn't furious before, she was now. The Captain nearly roared, "What do you mean _most important hostages_?!"

The Major explained, "I mean the Board members of the Dantius Corporation. Apparently most of them survived, so they and the company executive Nysha Dantius are letting the losses of the lower level employees go."

Allyna's face darkened and was about to explode before Irri raised a hand and cut her off, "And no, before you start, I don't like that any more then you do. Still, we should probably consider ourselves lucky that the company isn't gunning for us and let this go."

Allyna asked in a low growl, "And Enyala?"

Irri sighed, "I'm...letting her actions go as well." The Major pointed a finger and stated in a tone that warned Allyna not to push her, "And you and I both know if her actions had actually helped the situation, you would be the first to congratulate her for her actions. They were...regrettable, but understandable."

Allyna just glared at Irri for several seconds before she finally muttered in a defeated tone, "Fine."

Irrir nodded, "Good, now that that's all been settled, I'll take you and your squad back to your barracks. Least I can do after all you girls did."

Irri lead Allyna over to a sky car where the rest of the team had gathered and dropped them off in front of the Arca Company barracks. After saying goodnight to her teammates, Allyna headed through the lobby on the ground floor, took the elevator up to her room, and passed out on her bed without even bothering to take off her armor.

* * *

Specialist Cyessa Tasia entered her room and immediately went to work cleaning her weapons.

The rooms afforded to the troops were actually fairly spacious. They had beds big enough for at least two or three beings, decent sized vid-screens with a good selection of channels, and a private extranet terminal sitting at a private desk. Each room had a small refrigerator and a table and chair. The bathrooms were fairly small however, with a sink, toilet, and shower all crammed into a few square meters.

The closets ran from one end of the room to the other, and were directly across from where the entrance to the room was located. There was also a work bench in each room for maintaining weapons and armor.

Cyessa had arranged her room so that the vid-screen was on the wall directly in front where the workbench was set up. To her right was her closet, to the left her bed, and behind her the bathroom. On a small shelf, one that Cyessa had purchased herself, was a small collection of half a dozen marksmanship trophies from as many separate Republics back on thessia. Every one of them for first place.

The asari gathered a few rags, bottles of cleaner, and turned on the vid-screen to a news channel just as she began cleaning her sniper rifle. Cyessa wasn't one to really keep up on current events, but she always enjoyed some background noise if for no other reason than it helped take her mind off things after a long and exhausting day.

Just as the specialist had finished with her rifle and was about to move to her pistol, a news report came on that caught Cyessa's attention.

Looking up at the screen Cyessa turned the volume up as the asari newscaster spoke, " _And there has been yet_ another _wormhole discovered this week in the Styx Theta cluster."_

The screen moved to show a large and seemingly _glowing_ ring in the middle of space, with several research ships around the edge of the anomaly. When the camera turned to show the side of the anomaly, it showed it simply didn't have a side to it. It was as flat as a fingernail it seemed.

What's more, when a probe was shown to be sent through the anomaly, it was shown from this angle as well. The probe entered one side of the whole, but did not exit out the other.

At least, not in this region of the universe.

The news anchor continued, " _The anomaly remained open for several hours before eventually closing. Scientists say they have not yet been able to identify exactly where the wormhole lead, as none of the star formations match any known records._

" _In related news, the Styx Theta cluster also saw a dozen stars go Supernova within the last week. While this is not in itself an unusual occurrence, it should be noted none of the stars were within 1,000,000,000 years of being thought to be capable of such a feat._

" _Experts remain baffled at these events. A member of…"_

Cyessa didn't pay attention to the rest of the broadcast, instead finishing up with her pistol and thinking over the potential causes of all the anomalies that had been occurring over the last few years.

 _Dark Energy maybe. It is supposed to be causing the universe to accelerate in terms of expansion, so...maybe it's just tearing the universe apart finally? And maybe that's causing the stars to go Supernova? No, no. That...that just wouldn't add up. Dark Energy levels have ben rising exponentially for the last several thousand years, and there's never been any major disruptions to the universe before._

 _Or...has there been and we just haven't seen it?_

Cyessa sighed as she finished up, put her weapons away, and washed her hands. If the galaxy's greatest minds couldn't figure out what was happening, she doubted she could.

After brushing her teeth, showering, and changing into a light blue robe, the small asari got onto her bed. Instead of pulling the covers over her and trying to sleep immediately however, she sat upright on her bed, folded her legs underneath her, folded her hands in her lap, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Cyessa spoke in a low and solemn voice, " _Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum:_ Terye M'Tala, Taruciya Mysir, Beiarae Dire, Amula V'Doria, Dana Calido, Salya Dantiara, Aiuna Zelesta, Moara Ledari."

The teal asari took a moment to reflect on each of the names she had spoken. Each of them was a dear friend she had lost somewhere along the way during her time as a mercenary. While she had known many brave beings who had lost their lives, those eight were the ones she truly missed. Each had been so much more than a coworker. They had each been a true _vode_ to Cyessa, and the sniper was determined to keep them alive in memory if nothing else.

The sniper was silent for a few more moments, and then finally went under the covers to try and get some rest.

And as Cyessa finished paying her respects to her friends who were no longer with her, she couldn't help but feel grateful that she at least wasn't going to have to add another name to that list.

At least not tonight.

* * *

Private Leria Reya, naked as the day she was born, stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The gigantic asari stood almost as tall as the shower head, and actually had to crouch a bit to reach the water controls. After a few minutes Leria put her hands under the water and judged it was the perfect temperature.

Turning around, the muscular asari gestured to the tub and asked her companion, "You want to head in first?"

Corporal Raria Tesaya, who was also not wearing any clothing, entered the room. The shorter asari tentatively reached out and put her hand under the water for a few seconds, and quickly entered the shower, standing as far back from the water as possible. After a few seconds, Raria sighed and stepped under the current, but only long enough to wet her body enough to clean it. She then stepped back and began to apply her body wash.

Leria entered next, and with her height effectively shielded Raria from the water as she began to wash herself, for which she was sure Raria was grateful.

As she looked over at Raria, the tall muscular asari couldn't help but admire her body. Though Raria was of course in excellent physical condition, her body was also had significant curves to it that would surely draw more than a few stares even if she was dressed in casual clothing.

Leria had to stop herself before she got too carried away, as she was sure Raria wouldn't be up for anything tonight. Not after all that had happened.

The two had met when they were both assigned to Allyna's squad about 5 years ago, and had instantly become good friends. Such good friends that it wasn't long before the two had entered into a 'relationship', if you could call it that. Though they were more or less lover's, their situation could perhaps best be described as a 'friends with benefits' type situation. Neither were sure where it was headed, and both agreed that too much emotional investment in each other would probably compromise the squad.

That said, neither they nor the rest of the team saw anything wrong with the current situation. Such arrangements were fairly common among more close-knit teams such as Null Squad, and if anything the care they had for each other had actually _increased_ their overall combat effectiveness.

 _Yeah. Putting someone you love in danger is usually a great way to motivate someone._

Leria knew it was an arrangement that could only end in tears, but that was how most things ended in life. Especially for a long lived species such as the asari. So why not enjoy the time you had with a dear friend?

Taking her attention away from Raria's body and focusing on her face, Leria saw that Raria still had the same gloomy expression from earlier.

As Leria stepped away from the shower head she asked, "Hey? You doing alright?"

Raria answered in a sarcastic tone as she quickly rinsed herself off, "Sure. Other than nearly having one of my friends die tonight and the mission going to complete shit, I'm just fantastic. What's there to be upset about?"

Raria stepped out of the shower and began to dry herself off.

Leria responded as she finished and turned the water off, "We _survived_ Raria. That's all what matters. I'm sure Elzia will be fine and-"

Raria yelled as she hung up her towel and opened the door to Leria's room, "All that matters! All those people who die had lives and families! People who loved them and will never see them again! We were supposed to get them out, not get them all killed!"

Raria left the room and went over to the closet as Leria stepped out of the shower and reached for her own towel. From where she was, Leria could see Raria roam through her closet and grab a dark brown shirt that belonged to the massive asari. It easily reached down to Raria's knees, and as soon as she was dressed the shorter asari went over to the bed.

Leria quickly dressed in a pair of dark blue shorts and a white tank top, climbed into bed on Raria's left, and put an arm around her friend as she watched some random program that was playing on the vid-screen directly in front of them.

After a few minutes Raria sighed and said, "Sorry if I was a bit hot under the crest just now. It's just...I mean…"

Leria nodded, "I understand, _believe_ me I do. But Raria, you have to see the positive side of things in life. We're still here. And if nothing else, at least _some_ of the hostages survived. You have to remember that."

Raria nodded, and the two spent the next few minutes relaxing in front of their vid-screen before shutting it off and falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

Allyna woke up feeling like she had just been in a trash compactor. Every muscle in her body ached, her arm felt as if it was on fire, and she desperately needed a shower.

The Captain's bed was set in the corner of the room, just next to the door, with the vid-screen across the room on the opposite wall. Her work bench was set up against the wall and set next to the end of Allyna's bed.

Sitting up on her bed, the Captain took a few minutes to get her bearings as all the memories from last night came rushing back to her. As soon as it all had been sorted out Allyna's rage returned to her. She wasn't about to let what happened last night go.

Letting out a long sigh, the Captain slowly stood up and discarded her armor as she staggered over to the bathroom to take much needed shower.

After she had finished, the Captain dressed in a pair of black pants and a dark blue shirt, quickly cleaned her pistol and hid it under her shirt in the small of her back, and headed out the door and down the stairs to head toward to parking lot. In a few seconds she was passing through the lobby.

Located on the ground floor, the lobby was actually fairly spacious. There was a large vid-screen mounted on one of the walls, with a few large couches and several chairs in front of it. There were several card and game tables spread over the room. And there was even a small kitchen area where soldiers were able to cook food they brought in.

As she passed through the lobby Allyna was surprised to see none other than Lt. Enyala herself sitting on a couch and watching a Biotiball game. She was dressed in an Eclipse issued yellow and black off duty uniform.

Her anger getting the better of her, Allyna walked over to her fellow commando and just stood next to her for several seconds, glaring at her.

Eventually Enyala noticed her presence. Looking at the other Eclipse officer Enyala began in a neutral tone, "Look Ally, I'm not even gonna-"

Allyna grabbed the shorter asari by the throat and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Now you listen to me you worthless glory hound piece of shit, and listen good, because I'm only saying this _once_! You _ever_ go off mission like that, or _ever_ cause the injury of one of my people again, I'll rip your head off and use it as a Skyball. You got me!?"

Enyala couldn't respond as her windpipe was being crushed, but she was able to slightly move her head up and down as she tried but failed to pry Allyna's hands away from her neck.

Allyna smirked and let the other asari go, "Good."

T'Nira then punched Enyala square in the face, sending the other asari back several meters until she crashed into the wall, slumped to the ground, and fell to her side..

Satisfied the other commando knew never to try such reckless action when she and her team were involved again, Allyna smiled and walked out the door to the outside world. In a few minutes she was in the parking lot of the barracks, entering her teal colored sky car, and flying off to get herself something to eat.

* * *

Allyna returned to base a couple of hours later and parked next to the base's medical facility, exited the sky car with a paper bag containing two sealed circular metal trays and two liter sized water bottles, and entered the building.

The interior of the building had tan colored floors and pink colored wall and ceilings. There were dozens of doctors dressed in pink and light green colored uniforms walking about.

Walking up to the front desk, Allyna inquired about the status of her two squad members. Elzia was out of surgery, but apparently was still unavailable to receive visitors. Arla on the other hand was available, and after getting her room number, Allyna headed to see the lieutenant.

Arriving at her room, Allyna smiled to see her friend was doing well. She was dressed in a light pink hospital gown and was laying in a bed with the covers pulled up to her mid stomach. She had an annoyed look on her face as she flipped through the channels on the vid-screen not finding anything.

When she saw Allyna in the doorway, her face instantly lit up and she smiled, "Hey."

Allyna smiled back as she entered, pulled up a chair, and handed Arla a trey and a bottle of water, "Hey. I brought you lunch. Figured you could use it after last night."

Arla took a trey and smiled as she opened it and used the fork included in the tray to shove as much of the noodles into her mouth as she could before gulping down about half the water bottle.

Allyna asked once Arla had caught her breath, "So, how's the leg?"

Arla shrugged, "It's alright. The doctors are keeping me here for another couple days and I'm LLD for a week after that." The Lieutenant gave a disgusted sigh as she commented, "I can't believe I got hit though."

Allyna shrugged, "Well, when you go charge at a couple squads worth of hostiles with a Warp Sword in hand and start slicing and dicing them up, while several dozen more are several meters back with a clear line of fire and you have no way to get to them, you have to accept that you just might not come out of there in one piece."

Arla replied in an annoyed tone, "Goddess, you sound like one of my instructors. And for the record, I was trying to draw their fire, not kill them all. If I really wanted to do that, I could have."

Allyna shrugged, "Well, for what it's worth, your actions there probably saved most of the hostages that made it out. So any success we had is probably due to you. Don't get me wrong, it was reckless as all Hell, but still very heroic."

Arla actually managed to smile at that. The two chatted for a few more minutes before two asari dressed in armor carrying Avenger assault rifles entered the room.

The shorter of the two, a light blue skinned and very young looking asari asked in a slightly shaky voice, "C-Captain T'Nira? Major Camas wants to see you in her office."

Allyna sighed and looked at the two soldiers sent to retrieve her. Neither looked like they would be difficult to take out.

Looking back to Arla she asked in a bored tone, "Think I should go with them?"

Arla nodded as she finished her first tray, "Yeah. And remember, they're just doing their jobs. don't break any of their arms like the last time this happened."

The two troops faces cringed at the words while Allyna just shrugged and said as she stood, "The bitch was annoying and probably had it coming."

Arla commented as the Captain left the room, "That doesn't make what you did right either Ally."

Arla just shook her head and reached for the second tray and water bottle as the other asari left the room.

* * *

Located at the top of the Administration building of the base, Major Irri Camas' office was fairly small, with only a desk with a few holos on it, two chairs in front of said desk, and a couch on the right side of the room to those entering. Behind the major was a window that had a good view of about half the base and the Nos Astran skyline.

Irri wasn't looking at the spectacular view though. Instead her face was buried in her hands and her elbows were placed on her desk as she heard the door open and three asari stepped inside.

Looking up, she saw the two guards she had sent earlier had actually managed to retrieve Captain T'Nira, and without incident as both of them seemed physically unharmed.

 _She must be in a good mood today. That or she just didn't feel it was worth the trouble._

Irri signaled for the two guards to leave and pointed to a spot in front of her desk for Allyna to stand.

Allyna walked over to where her CO had pointed. With her hands in her pockets and a disinterested look on her face Allyna asked in a bored tone, "And just what is this all about Major?"

Irri took a calming breath. _This is going to be_ great. _I just_ know _it._

The Major sat up straight, looked Allyna in the eye and asked in as neutral a tone as she could manage, "I don't suppose you had anything to do with Lieutenant Enyala getting assaulted earlier today, did you?"

Allyna sighed and rolled her eyes, "That stupid bitch reported me, didn't she?"

Irri answered in a barely contained rage as she stood, "No, as that would have been pretty hard to do given she's in a coma right now!"

Allyna was unfazed by her superior's rage. Instead she just whistled and remarked, "Damn. She's in a coma? Didn't think I hit her that hard."

Irri shouted, "Well you did! And what did I tell you last night? To Let This Go!"

Allyna shouted back, "The only reason she's even still alive is because all my team made it out! If this ever happens again-"

Irri cut her off, "This ever happens again I'm putting you up in front of a firing squad!"

Allyna laughed at that, "Yeah, right. You don't have it in you to actually _discipline_ your people Irri. It's why you're the worst CO I've ever had and why this battalion is going to complete shit."

Irri seethed, "Is that right?"

Allyna nodded, "Yep. It's one thing to let things go as long as the mission gets done and nothing bad happens. It's another to just not care. And _you_ Major just simply don't care."

Irri gave her a smirk, "Oh really? In that case, I just happen to have a mission of _vital_ importance I need to handled. And I can't think of any team more qualified to handle this than yours."

Allyna gave her a furious look, "My team isn't even at _half_ strength, and that's including the two I've got in the hospital right now! You have other squads, send one of them!"

Irri gave her a look that said there would be no argument as she said, "I might have other squads, but none of them have leaders as insubordinate as you or have put one of their own in the hospital. Besides, I'm doing you a favor here. Enyala's people are probably looking for a little payback right now, so while you're gone I'll be able to find a way to keep this from spreading any further."

Allyna gave her CO a smoldering look but nodded, "Fine. When do we leave?"

"Immediately."

Allyna walked up so she was mere centimeters away from Irri, and gave the Major a look that sent chills running down her spine, "Alright Irri, I'll take this mission. But anything happens out there, but you better hope it happens to me. Because I lose any more people, I'm coming back here, and I'm gonna kill you."

Allyna's face lost all it's emotion as she stepped back, stood up straight, and reported in a machine like manner, "If that's all ma'am I'll go get my people. If it's this urgent I think it's best we be briefed on the ship."

After Allyna had turned and left the office, Irri let out a long and exhausted sigh as she sat down and buried her head into her hands once again.


	3. The Majestic

**Definitions:**

 _Osik:_ Dung (Impolite).

* * *

" _Mayday Mayday Mayday! This is Captain Eugene Martz of the_ MSV Majestic! _We're under heavy attack from an unknown enemy and we- AHHHH!"_

\- Captain Martz's final words.

* * *

 **4 hours later. Eclipse Corvette** _ **Prosecutor.**_ **Outer Faia System.**

Captain Allyna T'Nira sighed as she sat back in her seat and looked out through the windows of the cockpit. She had always found the look of space to be relaxing, especially when traveling in FTL. There was just something about space that helped Allyna achieve a true inner calm, no matter the circumstances.

That was probably why she was now just annoyed that she and her team had been sent on this mission instead of furious as she had felt in the beginning.

And in the end, though Allyna of course wished she and her team had been given a bit of time to recover after the previous night, the Captain was certain that whatever mission they were being sent on was important. Something of vital interest to those paying them to keep things as orderly as possible on Illium and the Terminus Systems at large.

As such, Allyna was determined to do what she always had done: follow her orders and get the job done.

"I can't believe this _osik_ Ally. You just _had_ to put Enyala in the hospital didn't you? Didn't you remember Rule Eight: Never hit, assault, or kill another commando, even if they deserve it? Now we got stuck with this shit detail, and we still have no idea what it is you got us into!"

Of course, not everyone on the team was as accepting of the situation as Allyna was.

Turning to her right, Allyna looked over at the source of the complaining: Specialist Cyessa Tasia. Normally Cyessa wasn't one to complain too much, and this was a unique situation that the Captain _did_ cause, so Allyna chose to let it go.

 _Probably best not to push her too hard. Seeing your best friend nearly bleed to death would put anyone in a foul mood._

Allyna sighed and looked around at the various monitors and controls in front of her again. The cockpit was small, with only enough room for the pilot and copilot. A vast array of buttons, controls, and monitors was displayed on a single long station in front of the asari. Both commandos were fully dawned in their usual yellow and black armor.

The _Prosecutor_ itself was a small and very old asari warship Eclipse had at some point purchased. One of several that the various commando squads took on their missions if they were not deploying with the rest of the battalion. The commando squads did not maintain the ships except for when they were on extended deployments. Instead, that was handled by the contractors back at the base. Meaning Null Squad had the ship all to themselves.

The ship was designed in traditional asari fashion: a central engine in the center of the craft that left a large hole in the ship, two swept wings to aide in arrow dynamics, and a black paint job. There were no 'fins' on the top or bottom, as those were reserved for Capital Ships.

The interior of the ship had grey passageways, a communal sleeping quarters with a dozen beds, a small but well equipped med-bay, a decent sized galley, a briefing room, and a small recreational area with a few extranet monitors, a vid-screen, and a couple of couches.

Allyna usually enjoyed these missions. They got you away from the idiots in the battalion and instead allowed you to bond with your team. And if you needed some time alone, then you could easily find an empty compartment and relax until it was time to deploy.

Of course, when you were just one of two qualified pilots left in the squad, getting away from someone who was understandably upset with you was rather difficult.

The Captain said in an apologetic tone, "Look, I'm sorry if I got carried away this morning. Sometimes my anger gets the best of me."

Cyessa just nodded and pushed a few buttons on the panel in front of her, "We're coming up on the target coordinates. Taking us out of FTL."

The universe outside the cockpit windows seemed to flash as the ship slowed to sub-luminal speeds. Ahead, Allyna wasn't sure how far, the commandos could make out two distinct shapes floating in space.

One was a large, brown, almost box looking vessel. It had three large thrusters in the back, appeared to be several hundred meters long and had about twenty meters in height in front half of the craft, and thirty meters tall in the back.

Next to the vessel on it's port side was a much smaller craft, probably about a hundred meters in length, and only a dozen or so meters in height. It was pitch black, only able to be seen visually as it was next to the other ship, and had a cylindrical design. Both recognized the ship model, and the asari shared a worried glance as they looked at each other.

 _Batarians most likely. This just gets better and better._

Allyna ordered the ship be placed in a state of zero movement until they received their briefing, and both commandos exited the cockpit and headed down the passageway toward the Briefing Room.

The room was small, with only a dozen chairs sitting in front of a small holographic projector. Raria and Leria were already in the room sitting in the front row. Allyna and Cyessa sat down next to them after the Captain hit a few buttons on the device sending a signal back to Illium to alert the Major to their current status.

After a few minutes a hologram of Irri Camas appeared. The Major folded her hands behind her back and began as a hologram of the larger ship appeared next to her, "Alright people, we don't have much time, so I'll make this quick. Approximately five hours ago the Eldfell-Ashland Energy freighter _MSV Majestic_ was attacked by an unknown force. The ship was carrying a massive shipment of Element Zero and was set to deliver it to a refinery on Zorya.

"Normally such an attack wouldn't be noteworthy, but this is different. The _Majestic_ is a _Nostromo_ class freighter, meaning it has a crew of almost eighty. Half of whom are security. In addition to this, it has heavy armor and kinetic barriers. Whomever hit this has serious firepower at their disposal and knows exactly how to use it.

"Your main priority is to secure the ship and prevent its attackers from taking it's cargo. You're next objective is to find any information you can about who attacked the ship and how they managed to capture it. Questions?"

Allyna raised her hand, "What about the crew?"

Irri sighed and shook her head, "Last contact with the ship was when the attack began. In all likelihood the crew are dead."

Allyna grimaced but nodded, "Understood. Also, just why are we being sent in to investigate and liberate an EAE ship when they have the money and people to do it themselves?"

Irri stated, "EAE reinforcements should be arriving in a few hours, but it's taken them a considerable amount of time to organize a force capable of retaking a ship this large; they don't just have strike teams on standby like we do. Meaning you all can, and have, gotten there far faster than they could. They're also one of the companies paying us to keep things stable for them. And, if nothing else, you all really are the best qualified team I have for this. Anything else?"

Allyna just shook her head and Irri ended, "Very well then. Best of luck Null Squad."

The holograms faded out and the team geared up for the mission.

* * *

Allyna and the others stood by a ladder that lead a portion of the _Majestic's_ hull. After the briefing ended Cyessa had piloted the _Prosecutor_ directly under the cargo ship and had deployed a bridge connecting both vessels. A plasma torch capable of cutting through the _Majestic's_ armor sat at the bottom of the ladder. The commandos were fully equipped with their usual weapons, Leria sporting a bandoleer containing extra demolitions charges across her sizable torso.

Taking a deep breath, Allyna prepared herself for the team's final pre-mission ritual. Holding a small sack in one hand, and a cluster of four rocks in the other, Allyna released the rocks into the sack, shook it for several seconds, and one by one the commandos drew lots to determine who would be taking point during the mission.

Once they all had selected, the commandos held out their hands and opened them in unison.

Raria, Leria, and Cyessa all had black rocks. Allyna's, however, was white.

The Captain actually managed to smile as she looked over at Raria and asked, "Looks like I'm the lucky one this time around. Think you can handle this run if I don't make it through?"

Raria nodded but gave her a serious look, "Probably, but can we please make sure it doesn't come to that Ally? I don't want us walking out of here a three asari squad."

Allyna gave her an equally serious look and nodded, "Sure thing."

Putting the sack and rocks aside, the Captain took a deep breath, activated her Tech Armor, and took the plasma torch as she went up the ladder. In a few minutes a hole wide enough for all of the commandos to fit through was carved out. Using her biotics, Allyna slowly lifted the metal slab and shifted it off to the side.

Climbing out of the hole the Captain quickly drew her sidearm and surveyed her surroundings.

They had drilled into the middle of a vacant and dimly lit passageway on the ship's lower decks. The bulkheads were a dark grey color, and there were no signs of anyone nearby.

Signaling for the rest of the team to follow, the commandos formed up with Allyna in the lead, Raria and then Leria behind her, and Cyessa, who had also engaged her Tech Armor, was the rear guard. The plan was to head toward the ship's bridge to hopefully be able to pinpoint exactly where the hostiles were on the ship and lock them in various compartments until the EAE reinforcement arrived.

After a few minutes Allyna heard something as she neared a four way intersection. She and her team halted, leaned up against the bulkheads, and waited as Allyna slowly peaked out from a corner and spotted two of the beings who had boarded the craft.

The hostiles wore jet black heavy armor which had helmets with clear front visor, were carrying Terminator model assault rifles (the main line from Batarian State Arms), and were speaking in a low and raspy dialect which Allyna recognised as Batarian. The two were facing each other and having an argument by the looks of it, as the one on the right gave the other a shove.

After a few seconds the two figures seemed to drop whatever they were arguing about, turned, and began to walk down the passageway towards Null Squad.

Turning before either had noticed her, Allyna signaled for her team to get ready to fight. Leria and Raria formed up on the opposite side of the passageway with weapons ready while Allyna began to glow with biotics. Cyessa took a knee and continued to cover their backs.

As soon as the two rounded the corner the commandos attacked.

Allyna slammed a biotic punch into the torso of the one on the right, forced him to the deck, and biotically blasted the back of his skull. Meanwhile, Leria simply grabbed the other, slammed him against the bulkhead, and snapped his neck.

The commandos quickly searched the corpses and found they were indeed Batarians. What was more interesting was that they were not wearing any omni-tools, instead having only a device inside their helmets to keep in contact. They were also using armor piercing rounds and had three grenades each, two fragmentation, and one flashbang.

Allyna was shocked. _This is top of the line hardware. No way these are just a bunch of random pirates. Something is_ definitely _up._

Not stopping to think about it for too long, the team relieved the bodies of their ammo and grenades, took offensive formation, Allyna again in the lead, and pressed onward.

After going up two ladder wells the Nulls came to a much brighter lit passageway. The bridge was on this deck, though not for several hundred meters.

The commandos proceeded until Cyessa knelt down and called just loud enough to be heard, "Hold up!"

The rest of the team knelt down in the middle of the passageway, with Allyna and Leria covering the front and Raria the back.

Raria asked in an annoyed tone, "And just what is it _this time?"_

Allyna turned to see Cyessa was rubbing her forehead with her left hand while her sniper rifle was placed on the deck pointed away from her squadmates and with her right hand still on the grip.

Allyna walked over to the short asari and asked as she knelt down, "What is it?"

Cyessa looked at the Captain with a confused expression and asked her team in a disbelieving tone, "You all _really_ can't hear that?"

Leria asked in a genuinely curious voice, "What are you hearing?"

Raria just sighed and muttered to herself, "Not this _again."_

Allyna ignored them both. Ever since she had been put into the squad, Cyessa from time to time got odd sensations or 'feelings' as she referred to them. Often times, whenever the squad was in close proximity to hostile forces, Cyessa would make a suggestion for the team on what to do. The small teal asari said she could simply 'feel' where an enemy was and even hear them speaking, even when they were a good distance away. They occurred mostly when things were calm and quiet, with few distractions around her, though she could occasionally 'feel' something in the heat of combat as well.

At first Allyna and the others had ignored her, believing she was either just screwing with them or being paranoid. However, after several incidents where Cyessa's warnings had proven correct, Allyna had started to take them more seriously.

Leria, being from Ulee, a Republic known for it's superstitious traditions, had taken to believing Cyessa whenever she said she 'felt' something. Raria didn't believe a word she had said, even after three years of serving with her and was getting a bit tired of it all. Arla and Elzia tended to tolerate what she said but it was unclear if they believed in her abilities or not.

Allyna didn't know if Cyessa was psychic, receiving messages from some higher power, had really good gut instincts, or was just plain crazy. She also didn't really care. She had learned by now not to distrust Cyessa's instincts, as things always worked out better when they followed her suggestions.

Allyna asked, "Anything useful you can tell us?"

Cyessa nodded and pointed to the bulkhead on the left side of the passageway they were walking down, "Yeah: what's left of the crew are in the next compartment."

Cyessa pointed to one end or the other of the bulkhead as she said, "There's a firefight going on right next to us. The pirates are on the left and attacking the crew, and the humans are on the right. We don't have long. If we're gonna help them, we need to do it _now!"_

Allyna looked over to Leria and asked, "Think you can get us through without killing any of us?"

Leria replied as she stood and headed over to the others, "Sure. Just tell me how big an explosion I'm allowed to make."

Cyessa said as she and Allyna formed up along the bulkhead, "Make it big. We'll want to make an entrance."

Allyna ordered as Leria set a charge on her left, "If you haven't switched over to Armor Piercing do it now. Probably going to need them."

Raria, who was on the opposite side of Leria, grumbled as she complied, "This is a bad idea, drawing attention to ourselves like this."

Cyessa smirked and responded as Leria stepped back and began to count down with her fingers, "What? You really don't trust me after all we've been through?"

Raria sighed just before her lover detonated the charge, "I _trust_ you Cyessa. I just don't _believe_ you."

The charge then detonated, and Allyna was the first one through the breach followed by Cyessa, then Leria, and Raria bringing up the rear.

Cyessa couldn't help but smirk and say as the team surveyed the compartment, "Ha! Told you! You gonna start believing me now?"

The squad had just entered the galley, which currently had two forces fighting for control of it. Just as Cyessa had said, on the left were two squads worth of Batarians attacking a half dozen or so humans.

The galley itself was fairly well spread out, with several metal tables and chairs spread about the compartment. On the opposite bulkhead from where Allyna and the others had come in there was a station containing several coffee makers and drink dispensers. On the far left was the main area crew members would pick up their meals from. Most of the lights had been shot, with the few remaining ones spread about the compartment, creating a mostly dark environment.

The Humans on the right had formed a semicircle with some overturned tables and their backs against a bulkhead trying to defend themselves.

The Batarians however were slowly advancing on them. One squad would lay down cover fire while the other would slowly advance. They were about halfway to their targets when Allyna and the others had arrived. The asari had entered the fight on the Batarian's right flank, leaving them perfectly exposed. And judging by the small collection of still bodies on the deck, Leria's charge had taken out a more than few of them.

The Batarians reacted quickly, with one squad focusing fire on the commandos while the other kept the Humans pinned down.

Allyna quickly threw up a biotic bubble to cover her team while they returned fire. Leria and Raria took up position on either side of Allyna and one by one began to pick off the hostiles shooting at them.

One hostile attempted to throw a grenade, but Raria biotically caught it and threw it back. The enemy who first threw it was obliterated an instant later.

When one tried to charge through the field Leria smashed his helmet in with her rifle and blasted what was left of his head away.

Meanwhile, Cyessa was picking off the squad that was attacking the humans one by one. By the time they knew what was going on it was far too late. The last two tried to fall back, but were cut to pieces by fire from both the commandos and the humans.

After a few minutes, it was all over. More than two dozen Batarian bodies littered the ground, and by the looks of it, all of the humans had survived the fight.

After looking over her team to make sure they were all alright, Allyna walked over to where the humans were still taking cover.

In a loud yet calm voice Allyna declared, "I'm Captain Allyna T'Nira, Eclipse. My team and I have been sent here to help you."

One of the humans, a male with light colored skin, blond hair, and a dirty brown uniform muttered as he stood, "Great. We're going from having to deal with one group of pirates to another."

That got Allyna more than a little irritated, "These _pirates_ are the only reason you people are still alive, so you _better_ start showing some respect before it's best I just leave you here for the Batarians."

The human got a lot more respectful and apologised, "Sorry. We're um...we've kinda had a rough day."

Allyna nodded and signaled for Raria to check the humans out for injuries as Leria and Cyessa kept a lookout for more hostiles.

Walking up to the Captain the human male extended his hand and greeted, "Sam Nelson, EAE."

Allyna shook it and asked what their situation was and what had happened to them.

Sam explained, "We had just entered the system when we were attacked; barely got a chance to send out an SOS before they completely took over. They took out our engines and boarded soon after. Security tried to fight back, but they didn't last long. Most us didn't survive the fighting. What few did were rounded up and put to work trying to get the engines repaired.

"We managed to, shall we say, 'accidently' cause a few small explosions in the engine room and killed a few of them, took their weapons, and we've been fighting ever since."

Allyna nodded, "Any idea how many hostiles are left or where they might be?"

Sam shrugged and replied in a tired voice, "I think there were about forty or fifty boarders. We just killed about twenty in the last hour, including the ones in here. There were four in the engine room with us, so...maybe twenty or so left? I...I'm not really sure."

Allyna nodded. _Probably twenty or so hostiles left. Most likely on the bridge or spread about the ship. We shouldn't have too much trouble then._

The Captain then asked, "You all think you'll be alright here if we left you alone?"

Sam answered, "Honestly I don't really care what you do as long as I get off this ship alive. You want to go play hide and seek with those fucks it's all the same to me. Just make sure you get them all, alright?"

Allyna nodded, thanked Sam for the information he had given, and along with her team looted most of the enemies ammo, leaving a small amount for the surviving crew, and proceeded down the passageway they had just come from towards the bridge.

After a few minutes they turned a corner and were about forty meters away away from their target. Still, something just didn't feel right. They hadn't encountered any more hostiles, and the firefight in the galley, mixed with a ship rocking explosion, would normally attract a lot of attention.

As they got closer to their target the Captain saw another small intersection. Proceeding at a snail's pace, the tall lavender asari slowly advanced until she heard a gunshot ring out behind her.

Quickly turning, the Captain saw Cyessa had fired a round directly into the overhead. Before Allyna could ask what was going on, red colored blood began to flow from the hole above.

An instant later, several panels from the overhead fell to the deck, and a squad of Batarians surrounded and charged at the commandos.

A pirate charged at Allyna with a pair of whips glowing with biotic energy. The Captain biotically dashed to the side, generated a heavy Warp in her left hand, and blasted her target's head in one swift motion.

Looking down the passageway, Allyna then sent a heavy Biotic Blast against two hostiles who were aiming their rifles at her.

Raria was rushed and hit first in the stomach, and then on the left side of her face, knocking her down. The attacker kicked her in the chest, sending her sliding back against a bulkhead.

Before her attacker could finish her off however, she sent a Warp into his chest powerful to knock him back a few meters, pulled her rifle over to her, and unloaded a full clip into his torso.

When a hostile attempted to stab Leria with an omni-blade, the massive asari simply grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, and used him as a shield as she grabbed her Executioner pistol and fired three shots at as many hostiles down the passageway. The violet skinned asari scoring three headshots before throwing her would be attacker against a bulkhead and delivering one final killshot.

A shot then rang out, and Leria yelled as she stumbled to the side as a bullet tore through her shoulder.

Turning around, the muscular asari saw a hostile had taken cover behind a corner by the bridge. Before the hostile could retreat behind his cover, Leria threw up a Stasis field, and delivered yet another head shot with her pistol.

Cyessa had been charged by a pirate, but had managed to detonate her Tech Armor at exactly the right time, sending him back about a meter. The asari then fired a Warp powerful enough to completely disintegrate the hostile.

When the last pirate was dead Allyna called out, "Everyone alright?"

Leria answered as Raria removed her chest plate and applied a layer of medi-gel, "I can keep going."

Allyna gave her a concerned look and asked Raria, "Can she?"

Raria nodded but gave her superior a look that said she wish it wasn't so, "Yes, but..."

Allyna's look worsened, "But?"

Raria shook her head and finished with Leria's shoulder, "Nothing. It...it's fine. She should be good to go."

Allyna frowned but nodded, and the team proceeded towards the entrance to the Bridge.

The door was locked, and a deep voice snarled at the commandos as they walked up to it, "You're not getting in here, so you may as well go home!"

Allyna looked over at Cyessa and asked, "Could you hack that door open?"

The short asari nodded, "Sure, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out they're in there waiting for us. Probably be better to just to blow it."

Allyna turned to Leria, but before the Captain could say anything, the large violet asari was already setting a charge on the door.

Allyna sighed, and the team took up position on either side of the door and waited for the charge to detonate.

Once the door was obliterated, Allyna threw a flashbang through the breach and lead the charge inside.

The Bridge was fairly large, with a half dozen stations spread about the room managing the ship's functions placed at regular intervals along the bulkheads. A large and elevated chair was located in the center of the compartment. In front of it all was a large window stretching from one end of the compartment to the other, giving those inside a spectacular view of the stars.

Inside, just off to the right of the door, were the bodies of the the unfortunate souls who had been on duty when the ship was attacked. All had been killed by omni-blades and simply been piled up and out of the way by the pirates.

The dozen Batarians in the Bridge had no cover to hide behind except for the chairs at each position and were disorientated by the blast and grenade, making them easy targets for the commandos.

After a few seconds the Bridge was secure.

As her team took over that various controls Allyna spared a glance at the bodies of the crew and sighed.

She had seen this before, a hundred times at least. And by this point in her life, though she still knew and recognized this as wrong, Evil even, Allyna T'Nira was simply numb to it.

 _Wonder if that means there's nothing left of the old me._

Allyna shook her head and asked her team, "Anyone found a way to search for the rest of the hostiles?"

Cyessa, who was to the left of Allyna, called out, "I've got the ship's internal sensors scanning now, but it doesn't look like there are any more."

Allyna went over to the teal asari and asked, "You sure?"

Cyessa nodded and pointed to a monitor that displayed the entire ship, specifically a small cluster of red dots in a large compartment, and reported, "Positive. See these heat signatures? Those are in the galley, meaning they're the humans we saved. We're the only ones other than them registering. Batarians may be cruel bastards, but they still give off body heat, even in armor. If they were still alive, we'd see them."

Allyna nodded and ordered, "Alright then, but I still want this ship searched. Every deck and compartment. I'm not leaving anything to chance. Now then, let's go see if those humans don't mind re-paying us for saving their asses. Goddess knows we could use the help."

* * *

A few hours later, after searching both ships had turned up nothing and the EAE reinforcements finally arrived, Allyna stood in front of the holographic projector reporting to Major Camas.

Allyna spoke in a neutral and machine like tone with her hands folded behind her back, "Mission completed Major. Six crew members saved and forty pirates sent into the next life."

Irri nodded and asked, "Casualties?"

Allyna reported, "Nothing serious. Private Reya took a round in the shoulder, but in a day or two she'll be able to fight again."

Irri nodded and gave Allyna a small smirk, "Very good. I take it that means you're not going to kill me when you get back then?"

Allyna waited a few moments before answering in an emotionless voice, "Not this time."

Irri nodded and asked, "Good. Also, did you find any intel about the pirates or how they managed to take down a _Nostromo_ class freighter?"

Allyna shook her head, "We didn't find anything on any of the bodies or on their ship. The pirates weren't wearing any omni-tools and the ship was scrubbed of any data. No clue as to where they even came from. EAE has it and is looking it over, but I doubt they'll find anything."

Irri frowned but nodded, "Understood. Still, any ideas as to just who this group was?"

Allyna shook her head, "No clue. I will say that they were _very_ well armed and seemed to have at least some understanding of squad based tactics. Whoever they were, they weren't just your average band of raiders."

Irri nodded, "I see. Anything else?"

T'Nira said in a serious and borderline threatening tone, "Only that unless a galactic war breaks out me and my team had better not be bothered for a while after this. We've earned a rest I think after the last couple of days."

With that Irri's mood darkened considerably. She ran her hands along her crest and looked down at the ground with an apprehensive look on her face.

After a few seconds Irri spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper, "Don't worry Captain, you'll get all the time you need."

Allyna gave her a curious look and asked, "Why? What's going on."

Major Camas gave her a truly sorry look and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier Allyna. I wanted to, but the mission had to come first." Sighing, Irri reported, "About an hour after you and your team left, a call came in from Serrice. It...it was about your mother."

Irri looked away, sighed again, and just could not bear to look Allyna in the eye as she reported, "I'm so sorry Allyna. There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it: your mother is dead."


	4. Congratulations Commando T'Nira

**A/N:** I am terribly sorry about not getting this out sooner. I won't bore you with the long list of excuses I have. Suffice it to say my life is rather hectic and I sadly may not get chapters out on a weekly basis.

On another note, this chapter is something of an experiment for me. It kinda skips around a lot, and I might also have rushed it a bit, but I think it holds together fine. Please let me know what you think.

 **Definitions** :

 _Vode An_ : Brothers/Sisters all. Ancient Krogan war chant.

 _Ner vod:_ "My brother/sister." Colloquially also "my friend."

* * *

 _"I can't_ believe _my luck! I applied to a few of those firms the instructors recommended, and I actually got a job interview at one! I'm pretty sure Sergeant Maza pulled a few strings for me, but who cares? I don't want to curse myself here, but it looks like I'll actually be able to get a decent job right out of school!_

 _"Still, to make the interview I'll have to leave the day after tomorrow and cut my weekend with mom short. I hope she won't be too disappointed at that. I've really been looking forward to seeing her. Still, if nothing else, I'm hoping she'll at least be happy for me."_

\- Allyna T'Nira, private journal. Written the night before her graduation from the University of Serrice's Commando program.

* * *

 **Republic of Serrice, Thessia. 1867. 0758 Local Time**.

Cadet Captain Allyna T'Nira stood at perfect attention next to her Company, her heart beaming with pride and anticipation as she awaited the order to proceed into the Drill Hall. Today was her graduation. Twenty years of training in everything from advanced Biotics techniques, Martial Arts, weapons handling, first aid, and so many other courses, on top of a regular college workload, _and_ being Team Captain for Serrice University's Skyball Team, was finally at an end. It had not been easy for Allyna, and more than once she had nearly decided to simply give up. She never did though.

Allyna T'Nira had managed to tough it out, make it through all the hardships of Special Forces training, and had even been given command of the class company she was in when her instructors recognized something in the tall lavender asari. A spark that not even many commandos had.

Allyna looked to her right and surveyed the commando company she had commanded the last thirteen years. She had done her best to act as some type of leader to them, and against all odds, they actually embraced her as their leader. During battle simulations they obeyed her without question. During PT they drove themselves as hard as they could if for no other reason then she had pushed _herself_ as hard as she could and they didn't want to look weak in front of her. Whenever one of them had a problem they had come to her about it, because they _trusted_ her.

Allyna had been honored to have trained with such a magnificent group of young asari. And, with a few notable exceptions of course, she was truly going to miss them.

 _But who knows? Maybe some of us will see each other again out there. Here's hoping if that does happen though we'll be on the same side. Don't think I could go up against any of them. Not after what we've been through._

Allyna turned her attention back to the instructors who were patrolling up and down the sidewalk, awaiting the order to lead her company into the Drill Hall to undergo the graduation ceremony. As soon as the doors to the Drill Hall opened and a marching beat could be heard, the instructors would signal for the cadets to march in and form up as they had practiced almost every day for the past two months.

The day was warm, the sun by now having reached a fairly high point in the cloudless sky. A slight breeze helped keep the cadets cool as they stood at perfect attention awaiting the order to advance.

The buildings that surrounded them were all in the traditional asari design: beautiful, elegant, almost glowing spires that seemed to change color as the sun shined down on them. The only exception to this, and only be necessity, was the Drill Hall. It was a five story square structure, about two hundred or so meters across. Directly in front of the main entrance to it were about a thousand soon to be commandos, all eager for the ceremony to begin.

The cadets were organized into ten Companies. Each Company was itself organized into a formation of six asari across, with flags being carried by the asari at the front of the columns. The flags had symbols on them representing awards the companies had won, ranging from marksmanship to academic scores to keeping their barracks rooms tidy. The average cadet was dressed in a suit of pristine white battle armor.

To the immediate left of the first rank of the formations were the 'company commanders', the cadets that had been put 'in charge' of the unit during their training. Allyna and the others wore not only a suite of white armor, but also a skirt like piece of flexible leather attached to their belt called a _kama_ that went down to about their feet and was open in front as to not hinder movement. Attached to their belts also was a thirty centimeter long metallic cylinder called a Warp Sword.

When activated, the Sword would generate a blade of pure plasma from its hilt. An elegant weapon from a time long past in asari history, they were now only used in ceremonies such as this one and in actual combat by a small elite group of Justicars. They were highly dangerous weapons that took decades, if not _centuries_ to master when used for the purposes of combat. The ones used by the cadets were merely training Swords of course, posing little danger to anyone. Around the necks of the Cadet Captains and over their left shoulders was a piece of padded grey cloth called a _pauldron_.

Allyna didn't much like the uniform herself, but she had to admit it would be fun explaining to her mother all the bits and pieces of it when she finally saw her.

 _I just hope she'll be able to find me in there. Gonna be a nightmare trying to get out of here with her once all this is over._

Allyna took a breath to steady herself as she saw the Drill Hall's doors open. Even though her company was the third one back from the entrance, she could still hear the drums beat out the cadence.

The instructors gave the signal, and in perfect unison, the cadet captains unclipped their Warp Swords, ignited the cerulean blades, and gave the orders to march forward. Allyna turned her head and ordered in a loud and crystal clear voice, "Forward," the asari in the front of the columns picked up their banners. The tall lavender asari then commanded, "March!"

In perfect lockstep, the company advanced into the Drill Hall. Allyna couldn't help but smile as her unit crossed the threshold into the structure.

As soon as they entered the building, they were assaulted by the blasts of the drums, as well as the cheers of the thousands of people who had come to witness the ceremony. In front of the marching formations were rows upon rows of bleachers that were filled to capacity. Most were Asari, but there were considerable numbers of Turians, as well as a few Krogan in attendance. A few scattered members of various other races were there as well.

In front of the family members was the orchestra. On a stage in the center of the room stood the commandant and a few senior instructors and guests that had been brought in to speak.

Allyna did her best to try and look for her mother, but she had precious little time as she had to order her company to carry out the proper maneuvers to get them into position, otherwise they would march into the audience.

After the companies had all formed up in front of the audience, they stood at parade rest for a few moments, until the band stopped and started to play a different song.

At the signal, the commandos snapped to attention and began to sing _Vode An._ It was an ancient Krogan war chant the asari had learned during the Rachni War, and while singing it had not been done during the Rebellions, after the war it's usage during military graduations had become commonplace, if for no other reason then the asari simply had no war chants of their own _._

Allyna sang the lyrics as best she could, considering they were in Krogan (the asari translation she was told simply didn't have the same weight, and the tall lavender asari had to agree).

The commandos sang:

 _Kote!_ (Glory!)

 _Kandosii so ka'rta, Vode an_ (One indomitable heart, Sisters all)

 _Thessia a'den mhi, Vode an_ (We, the wrath of Thessia, Sisters all)

 _Bal kote, darasuum kote_ (And glory, eternal glory)

 _Jorso'ran kando a tome_ (We shall bear its weight together)

 _Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad, Vode an_ (Forged like the saber in the fires of death, Sisters all)

The chant's second verse was too fast paced for Allyna to accurately sing, so she sadly had to simply lip sink as best she could. Thankfully, nobody noticed, and after the chant had ended the commandos were allowed to stand at ease for the duration of the ceremony. The commandant, a few guest speakers, and one or two senior instructors all went on about the hardships the commandos had endured, the pride they now had at looking at them now, and other such bits of sentimental nonsense.

Allyna didn't listen to a single word of it. All she did during the ceremony was scan the crowd as best she could for her mother. It was rather difficult, given that there were multiple stories of bleechers spread about the room, many of which outside of Allyna's direct line of sight. It didn't help that Allyna had to keep her gaze directly ahead of her the entire time, otherwise very bad things might happen.

 _It would be pretty messed up to come this far and have weekend liberty get taken away before I even get to say 'hi' to mom_.

Eventually though, the speeches finally stopped. As soon as the last speaker cleared the stage, the commandant came back up to the microphone, and declared in a loud and proud voice that weekend liberty had finally started.

With that, the drill hall erupted in a series of cheers that made Allyna's ears nearly rupture.

Newly graduated commandos charged forth to meet their family and friends who had come to see them, and likewise their guests came down to congratulate their loved ones. A few members of the band were nearly trampled by a few of the krogan who had wasted no time charging to meet their family.

Allyna was more than happen to just sheeth her Warp Sword and wait patiently for all the commotion to die down. Though she only had the day to spend with her mother, waiting a half hour or so for things to clear out wouldn't make much difference. It wasn't like she was going to find her mother in all the confusion anyway.

Eventually though, as the crowd began to clear out and her mother failed to appear, Allyna began to worry.

The tall lavender asari scanned the bleachers, but couldn't see her mother in the small cluster of asari still sitting there. Likewise Allyna's mom had yet to come and greet her, despite there gradually being fewer and fewer commandos in the drill hall.

Eventually, after a while, Allyna found herself alone. Not a sole had remained after thirty minutes. Not instructors, not graduates or family. Not even a janitor to clean up after the ceremony.

Allyna looked around a few more times in some vain hope to find her mom, but she was nowhere to be found.

Allyna was worried now. She walked out of the Drill Hall and toward one of the nearby spires thinking over all the possible reasons her mother hadn't arrived. The newly graduated commando knew it couldn't be because she had the wrong address; Allyna and her mom had grown up in Serrice, and knew exactly where the University was.

Allyna quickened her pace as she thought of the only other explanation she could.

 _Maybe...maybe something happened to her on her way here. Dear Goddess I hope not. Please, anything but that!_

Eventually the commando entered into the spire, and surveyed the room. The building was a store that supplied basic essentials such as uniform items, weapon and armor modifications, biotic amps, and the like. There was a small strip of fast food outlets, an extranet café, a small bar that sold soft drinks and energy drinks (alcohol was strictly prohibited to cadets and instructors alike) and even a small arcade.

This area was where cadets were allowed to relax when their instructors deemed their efforts worthy of reward. Allyna was disgusted by the very existence of this place, but at this moment was grateful for it. The extranet terminals here had video feed capabilities, so she might be able to call her mother and make sure she was alright (Allyna's omni-tool was stored in the barracks, which was farther away from the Drill Hall then the exchange had been).

Sitting down in front of a terminal, Allyna logged in and was about to try and call her mother when a notification popped up saying she had an unread email. Pulling up the message, Allyna was at first relieved to see it was from her mother, and dated from earlier in the day, but as she began to read the notification, her heart sank.

 _Allyna,_

 _I'm so sorry to have to tell you this now, but something's come up at work and I won't be able to make it to your graduation. I tried to call and tell you, but they said you were unavailable. That's odd. Don't they try to keep you all informed? Still, it's probably for the best, right? I can't imagine why you would want to spend a whole weekend with boring old me._

 _I wish you the best of luck with wherever life takes you. Congratulations on your graduation. Well done Commando!_

 _Love,_

 _Mom_

To say Allyna was crushed was an understatement. Whatever joy, excitement, or pride Allyna had felt about graduating evaporated as soon as she finished reading. For months now she had been looking forward to spending this time with her mom, the only family she had. This was the _one_ thing she had to really look forward to for so long now, and now it was denied her through no fault of her own.

The tall lavender asari sighed, put her elbows on the desk in front of her, and put her head in her hands. In truth, Allyna wasn't that surprised. In fact, thinking back on how her mom always acted, she really should have seen this coming.

 _Well, at least I don't have to worry about her being sad now._

The newly graduated commando spared one last glance at the message before logging out and heading back to her barracks. She had to be up early in the morning if she was going to make her shuttle.

 _And we wouldn't want to disappoint dear old mom by being late to our first job interview, now would we?_

* * *

 **Serrice, Thessia. 2175. 1343 Local Time.**

Allyna T'Nira stepped out of the spaceport and awaited her taxi, the asari having brought a single black suitcase with her. All around the Eclipse Captain stood a vast sea of beings, the majority of whom were asari with a few representatives of various other species mixed in. Though the sun was barely past its zenith and there was not a cloud in the sky, it was still a cold late autumn day in Serrice, and the high winds certainly didn't help.

Allyna was dressed in nothing more than a thin red shirt and black pants, but she didn't really mind. In fact, she barely felt a thing. The last two days since she got the news of her mother's passing had been a whirlwind of activity. Having to quickly say goodbye to her friends, pack, and get on the earliest available shuttle for Thessia had been very stressful for Allyna. The trip to her homeworld had not been any easier either.

Despite how exhausting the last few days had been, and the exhaustion she felt at the news itself, for some reason Captain T'Nira simply had not been able to sleep much on the ride over. She didn't know why, as she had always been able to rest on command before.

 _Yeah, but then again I've never been told my mom was dead before either._

After a few minutes her automated taxi arrived, and Allyna was on her way to her mother's apartment. As the sky car took off, Allyna was given a bird's eye view of the city. The tall triangular spires that made up the majority of the city glowed brilliantly, almost as if they themselves were the sources of the light. Endless waves of sky cars moved to and fro about the city in neat, orderly rows. Far below, almost too far for Allyna to see, endless herds of people walked the city streets.

The pleasant view helped Allyna to find at least some measure of peace, for which the Captain was grateful. It was nice to be able to just sit back, relax and enjoy a beautiful view without having to worry about getting your head shot off for being careless.

After a few minutes however, whatever pleasant feelings Allyna felt ended.

The taxi parked in front of the apartment Allyna's mother lived at. Paying her fair, the tall lavender asari exited the vehicle with her luggage, took a deep breath, and proceeded inside.

The building was among the tallest structures in one of the wealthier parts of the city. The lobby of the building had a few asari dressed in elegant robes milling about. A few stared as Allyna entered the elevator and took it to the top floor.

The penthouse had a large 'living room' section directly across from the elevator, including a large hand carved oval table in the center of a 'U' shaped couch big enough to sit a dozen beings. In front of the couch mounted on the wall was a large vid-screen. Next to the living room was a large dining area with a circular glass table. A kitchen was next to the table, and had a grill, oven, stove, and more appliances and tools than some restaurants. Beyond the kitchen there was a balcony that had a metal table and four chairs overlooking one of the nicer parts of the city.

Allyna paid none of it any mind as she moved past it all and headed for her mother's bedroom. Her mother's room was very spacious, including a bed large enough for at least five asari, a series of hand crafted wooden dressers lining the walls, and an enormous vid-screen. Walking to the closet, which ran from one wall to another directly across from the door, Allyna snapped her fingers and the automated metal doors opened, revealing a walk in closet several meters deep that had was filled nearly to capacity with expensive outfits.

Finding a few empty spots near the back, Allyna quickly hung up what few outfits she brought with her, removed her toiletries, and headed into the bathroom.

The bathroom itself had sparkling metal floors and walls, and was fairly well spread out like the rest of the apartment. Directly across from the door was a large marble counter that had three sinks below a mirror that ran across most of the room. On the right was a shower that had holes in the ceiling releasing water instead of a shower head, and was large enough for three asari. On the left was a hot tub that could fit at least six beings.

Allyna set her belongings on the counter and then went over to her mother's bed and collapsed onto it and starred at the ceiling. She wanted so much to just stay in bed and sleep. She couldn't though. She had a lot of work to do making sure everything was in order for her mother's funeral, her will, and everything else.

 _How does that human expression go? No rest for the wicked?_

Allyna wasn't one to just lay around when there was work to be done. So, after allowing herself a few minutes rest, the tall lavender asari stood, took a deep breath, and set about doing what needed to be done.

* * *

 **Eclipse base, Illium**

In a small and dimly lit room in the base's medical center, Sergeant Elzia Grassi lay perfectly still in her bed except for the slight rise and fall of her chest. The injured commando was dressed in a light pink hospital gown with the covers pulled up to her mid abdomen. The asari had her eyes closed, as if she were asleep, and her head was turned in the direction of the being on the left side of her bed.

Sitting in a chair, dressed in a suit of onyx black colored medium armor, was Specialist Cyessa Tasia. The short teal asari had one leg folded over the other, and upon said leg was a notebook the sniper was drawing a portrait of her friend on. On the ground next to the teal asari was a small box of pastels.

Cyessa squinted over her work once more, then glanced back at her friend. After making a few final marks on her paper the teal asari smiled and declared, "There. Finished!"

Elzia immediately stretched as much as she could without hurting herself and said in an annoyed voice, "About damn time."

Cyessa gave the other asari the picture and reminded her, "You can't rush art Elzia. I hope you like it."

Elzia smiled as she took the picture, but as the injured commando examined it, all she could do was scowl and look back at her friend with an indignant look, "The fuck Cyessa?"

Tasia gave her a confused look, "What?"

Elzia asked as she turned the picture around, "Just when and how did I get all those scars covering my face?!"

Cyessa shrugged, "I had to make your face more attractive. You don't exactly have a memorable one."

Elzia glared at her, "My face is perfectly attractive!"

Cyessa corrected, "Your _body_ is attractive _ner vod._ Your face however is forgettable at best."

Elzia pretended to be offended as she asked, "You saying I'm ugly then?"

Cyessa shook her head, "Not at all. Just that you could always look better."

Elzia smirked and asked, "Oh yeah? If I'm so damn ugly then how do I get more azure then the rest of the team combined?"

Cyessa answered, "Because you'll take anyone who will have you and are the most promiscuous person I know."

Elzia's eyes widened, "Excuse me?"

Cyessa shrugged, "Just saying. Seriously, is there any world we've been deployed to where you _haven't_ hooked up with someone?"

Elzia smirked, "You're just jealous I'm better with the asari then you."

Cyessa rolled her eyes, "Jealous of a two hundred seven year old child? Yeah right."

Before Elzia could retort a voice called out, "And just what are you two dipshits arguing about now?"

Both asari turned to face the direction the voice had come from. Leaning on the side of the doorway with a smirk on her face and her arms folded across her chest was none other than Lt. Arla Selemi.

Arla was dressed in a dark brown robe. Unlike most asari robes however, hers was not shaped like an elegant dress. Instead, her robe was several layers of folded cloth covering her upper body, while the section covering her legs was arranged in such a way that is resembled a pair of pants. On her feet were a pair of black boots.

Across Arla's waste was a black belt. And on said belt, hanging at her side, was a Warp Sword.

Arla asked, "Well?"

Elzia held up the picture with one hand and pointed to Cyessa with another, "Cyessa made me disfigured!"

Cyessa defended, "I did not! I made her _attractive_! Scars are sexy. Show you're capable of surviving horribly violent or dangerous situations."

Arla asked as she entered the room, pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the bed as Cyessa, and took the drawing, "And just what do you do when your scars fade after a decade or so Cyessa?"

The short teal asari shrugged, "Get new ones obviously."

Arla just sighed and shook her head. As she examined the picture though, Arla had to admit Cyessa did a good job of capturing Elzia's likeness. Aside from the facial scaring (which Arla had to admit was rather horrific), it looked exactly like the squad's designated Infiltrator.

 _The psycho knows how to draw, I'll give her that much._

Setting the picture aside, Arla said, "Right. Well, can you at least _try_ to keep your works more faithful to how we really look from now on? It'd save us all a lot of grief I'm sure."

Cyessa frowned but nodded, "Sure. Anyway, how's the leg?"

Arla shrugged, "It's good. The doctors are being idiots and telling me I can't deploy again for at least another week despite me telling them I've gone into battle with _far_ worse injuries and been perfectly combat effective."

Arla leaned back in her seat and stared at the ceiling before continuing, "Then again, it does give me a week off. So I suppose I shouldn't complain _too much._ "

Looking back at Cyessa the tall pale blue skinned asari stated, "I heard you two had an interesting time the other night."

Cyessa nodded and explained how they met Matriarch Aethyta and how she had saved Elzia's life.

Arla smiled, "Must have made your night meeting another Krogan Asari huh?"

Cyessa smirked, "Maybe. She told us the name and location of a bar she said we could go to and pay her back for her efforts. Don't know if she works there or owns it or what, but I was planning on heading over there as soon as I was done here and seeing what it's like. Feel like joining me?"

Arla smiled, "Sure. Just give me a few with Elzia and I'll be along."

Cyessa smiled as she stood and collected her things, "Sure."

As the teal asari headed for the door Elzia reached out and begged, "Please, take me with you!"

Cyessa smirked just as she was about to step out the door, "Sorry _ner vod,_ doctors orders. You aren't going anywhere for a couple weeks at least. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to tell you if they have strippers and red sand there so you can hit it up when you get out."

With that, Cyessa left the room.

Elzia called out after her, "And I'm _not_ promiscuous Cyessa! The other asari just can't resist me!"

Turning back to Arla, Elzia asked, "So what did you want to talk about?"

Arla shrugged, "Just wanted to talk, make sure you're doing alright. Nearly dying would shake even _you_ up."

Elzia smiled, "Awww, thanks LT. I'm fine though. Really. Remember Rule forty five: Any crash you walk away from is a good one."

Arla gave her a serious look, "Yeah, but you _didn't_ 'walk away' from it. Hell, you barely _survived_. If not for the sheer luck you had running into that Matriarch, you'd be dead right now."

Elzia just smiled back, "True, but I _didn't die_ Arla. I'm still here. You got to see the positive side of things in life. And honestly? Aside from obviously wanitng to get out of here, the only regret I have is not getting to see more of your Warp Sword skills the other night."

Elzia held up her hands and moved them side to side as if using a Sword, "To see you charging in like that, obliterating enemy after enemy like they were nothing, all to save the lives of people you didn't even know. It really reminded me of all those sappy heroic story about Justicars in the days of old."

Arla smirked and laughed for a few seconds before her face grew very dark and she spoke in a very serious voice, "Yeah, well...you know there's almost no truth to those stories right?"

Elzia nodded, "I know, I know. Still, just wanted to say I really appreciated what you did down there. Don't think any of the rest of us would have been that brave."

Arla smirked, "You mean that stupid, don't you?"

Elzia shrugged, "You said it, I didn't. Still, my point stands." Elzia pulled up her Omni-tool and forwarded Arla a few credits, "There. Have a few rounds on me. You earned it."

Arla smirked, "Even when _you're_ the one in the hospital you have to make sure we're all taken care of, huh?"

Elzia smiled, "Well, a grouch like you never takes care of themselves. And with Ally gone, if I don't, who will? Now go on, get out of here."

Before Arla left the room however Elzia called out, "And um...Arla?"

Arla turned and asked, "Yeah?"

Elzia asked shyly, "If this place actually _does_ have strippers, could you um...maybe take a few pictures for me? I'm gonna be stuck here for a couple weeks and I doubt they'd let me watch anything. Even if it was just from my personal collection."

Arla couldn't help but laugh, "Sure thing Elzia. Sure thing."

With that, the tall pale blue asari turned and headed out the door.


	5. A Krogan and a Justicar walk into a bar

**A/N** : I am not sure how I feel about this chapter. I 'free wrote' most of it, which I usually don't do because, as you will see, when I do things tend to get a bit...out of hand. Still, I liked the finished product too much to get rid of it, so here you all are. Please let me know what you think.

 **Definitions** :

 _Vode_ : Brothers/Sisters, comrades.

 _Chakaar_ : Thief, petty criminal, scumbag. General term of abuse.

 _Shebs_ : Backside, rear, butt, etc.

 _Osik_ : Dung (impolite).

 _Su cuy'gar_ : "Hello." Literally: "So you're still alive."

 _Ad'ika_ : Kid, lad, boy, sweetie, darling, son, daughter, child, etc.

* * *

 _"I submitted my application to the Justicars today. I had a long talk with mom and dad about it and...they were actually both alright with it. I was really surprised at that. It's hard for me to believe a parent would be alright with their kid wanting to join a group like them._

 _"Then again, it's really not all that surprising. I guess we've all always known I was going to join the Justicars, or at least some type of military or police order if it doesn't work out. And mom and dad did always do their best to make me value things like Honor, Morality, Justice, and Respect for other living beings. Guess I just took all their lessons to heart."_

\- Arla Selemi, private journal.

* * *

 **Republic of Cyrene, Thessia. 1867**.

It was fairly late in the day for the small fishing village, the sun just barely above the horizon. Though it was late Spring in this hemisphere, the day was a cold and dreary one. A series of storms that came in from the sea had battered Cyrene all day, with more rain due overnight. So much had fallen in such a short period that already the streets were flooded with several centimeters of water, and the wind had reached nearly unbearably high speeds.

A few kilometers off the coast, a small fleet of fishing vessels was returning after a long and particularly bitter season out at sea. Some of the crews had done well, but many would be struggling to get by until the next season started. Some may simply not be able to make it and be forced to look elsewhere for employment.

Such was life on the continent of Majesa. The weather was rough and unpredictable, often going from one extreme to another, sometimes several times over the course of a single day. The vast majority of the continent was an inhospitable desert, with the only settlements located on the coastal regions. Most of said City-States were almost entirely dependent on the fishing industry to survive, with only a few being able to make it as regional trade centers.

As such, most City-States on the continent were sparsely populated. Cyrene itself was one of the larger Republics on Majesa, being home to roughly fifty thousand asari. Though the Cyrenese were too proud to call themselves poor, by asari standards they were nearly destitute.

The average income for a being living in this region was barely a third of what it was for an asari in Serrice. Those in Cyrene had only gotten extranet access in the last thirty years, most did not own a sky car, and almost all of those born here would never leave the city, or at least the surrounding region. Which, for the asari (a species known for it's yearning and love for adventure and travel) was not looked highly upon by those on the better populated continents.

The buildings in the small community were also a far cry from the magnificent towers covering much of the planet elsewhere. The majority of structures in Cyrene were fairly small, only a few stories tall at the most. Many of them were square in shape, and several were in a state of disrepair. Instead of the shining wonders of modern engineering that were the buildings in Armali or Serrice, these dwellings were dirty, dark, and rusting. Many were multicolored due to the substandard types of metals used, which tended to deform fairly quickly without the proper care.

Still, despite the relatively limited opportunities she had been afforded by Cyrene, at least one deckhand on one of the vessels sailing into port had truly loved growing up there.

Cyrene, along with the rest of the Republics on Majesa, was among the very few regions on Thessia where asari born to two asari parents was the norm. It may have been due to small communities (even asari communities it seemed, despite their species' nature of supposedly welcoming members of other communities or species) never welcoming anyone who wasn't born in their region, a lack of non-asari interest into moving into a region that was on the fringes of civilization, or perhaps a dozen other factors.

In the end, the deckhand didn't care. The fact of the matter was that this was one of the very few places in asari space she wouldn't be looked down upon at best, and outright _hated_ at worst, just because her dad was an asari.

Cyrene's community was also fairly tight-nit and, in the deckhand's opinion, just plain _friendly_. It was often said the asari were the most community oriented species in the galaxy, and so far the deckhand couldn't help but agree.

She had simply lost track of all the times her family had come to the aide of one of their neighbors in a time of need, despite often not knowing them very well, if at all. Her own family had likewise been helped by members of their neighborhood when they were in a tight spot, many of them the deckhand had never seen before.

The people here would go out of their way to help someone in need, even if it only made their life more difficult. The people here would do what they believed to be right, no matter the situation. The people here, in the deckhand's opinion at least, actually and truly _cared_ about the people around them.

From what the deckhand had learned about the wider galaxy from her schooling and her time browsing the extranet, that was a _very_ rare thing.

Were there problems the City State had? Of course. It was by no means a perfect place to live. But then again, where was? A small community had it's share of secrets, bad people, and issues, but so did the major Republics elsewhere on Thessia and across the galaxy. There was crime, deceit, violence, and Evil everywhere in the universe.

Just as no one being was immune to making mistakes or choosing to become Evil, so to was there no community that was absolutely perfect.

For all these reasons, the deckhand loved Cyrene, and was very much looking forward to going back home and spending some quality time with her family.

As the young asari finished making sure the cages used for trapping various crustaceans were secured, she looked around the deck of the vessel and surveyed her surroundings. The four other asari moving about the deck were all dressed in heavy dark blue rain coats with their hoods pulled over their heads and pulled shut as to mostly hide their faces. The others were all significantly older than the deckhand, meaning they were many centimeters taller, as well as being considerably more muscular due to decades if not centuries of time at sea.

The vessel was about forty meters in length, with a crane near the bow used for loading and unloading cargo and pots, a large superstructure at the stern containing the bridge. Below the superstructure was the crew's berthing and galley. The vessel had a dark blue paint job with the name of the ship, the _Defiant_ , appearing in bright gold letters on the port side of the ship.

The _Defiant_ eventually made it's way into port and began to unload its meager catch. The season had started out well enough for the vessel, but as the weeks went on fewer and fewer of its pots seemed to catch anything worth bringing back to port. The deckhand figured (or at least hoped) they still did well enough for the crew to get by, but it was still a rough season.

After all was said and done the crew began to go below deck and collect their things before heading home.

The deckhand however headed into the superstructure and up toward the bridge, pulling her hood back as she went inside. As she went up the ladder wells and eventually reached the bridge, the deckhand saw the Captain of the ship typing away at a terminal, most likely distributing the proceeds from the season.

The Captain was dressed in a dark purple shirt and black pants. She had a fairly muscular build, a medium blue skin tone, pale blue facial markings along the side of her cheeks and along her forehead, and green eyes.

As she heard the deckhand enter the compartment the Captain called out, "I'll be along in a minute Arla, just give me a few minutes."

Arla Selemi nodded and asked in a somewhat worried voice, "How um...how'd we do dad?"

Arla's father shook her head as she finished her work, shut down her monitor, and sighed, "Not great. We got by at least, but I wouldn't be surprised if a few of the others weren't back next season."

Arla gave a solemn nod, and after a few more minutes the pair were on their way back home.

* * *

After slowly moving through the waterlogged streets, the two asari came to a noticeably old and small apartment building, took the outside stairs up to the third floor, and went inside.

The apartment took up the whole of the floor, but as the building was fairly small, that only meant the dwelling felt rather cramped. Immediately to the right of the door was a small kitchen with grey walls, appliances that were barely working they were so old, and a floor that had several tiles missing from its design.

Directly in front of the door was a small living room with a single small couch that would fit three beings and a well worn out reclining chair on its right side. A small wooden table was situated in front of a small vid screen positioned on a small stand across from the couch. Beyond the living room were two bedrooms. One where Arla's parents slept, and the other where Arla and her two sisters stayed. There was a third room where they did their laundry and housed all their cleaning supplies.

It may not have been much, but Arla didn't mind. She and her family always had all they ever needed, which was more than enough for the young asari.

Arla hung up her coat alongside her father on the rack by the door, revealing the dark grey long sleeved shirt and black pants she wore underneath.

Before she could do anything else however, she was assaulted by a significantly shorter asari dressed in a dark green robe who enveloped her in a tight hug and called out, "Arla! You're back!"

Arla hugged the shorter asari and said affectionately, "Sure am. You been helping out Serra and mom out Tevri?"

Tevri, Arla's youngest sister and a being maybe twenty years old (about six or seven by human standards), had a medium hued blue skin, no facial markings, and golden eyes identical to Arla's, nodded and said as she went to hug her father, "Of course!"

Arla smiled as she looked up to see the middle child of the family, Serra, smiling at her. Moving away from the doorway, Arla and her other sister embraced in a tight hug.

Serra had Arla's light pale blue skin, deep blue lightning bolt facial markings along the sides of her face, and brown eyes. She was about forty five years old, about fifteen or so by human standards, and a few centimeters shorter than Arla. She was dressed in a dark blue robe.

After a few seconds Arla stepped back and asked how things were doing.

Serra gave her a tired smile and reported, "Alright I guess. School is ending in a couple weeks, but unfortunately I won't be able to get any more hours. At least not anytime soon. I got told today the restaurant I work at is closing in a month, but I think I can find a new job before then. Tevri's still causing plenty of trouble and mom's well...mom. Not much has gone on really."

Arla was saddened to hear her sister would be unemployed soon but gave Serra a determined nod.

Turning to her right, Arla saw her mother, who was dressed in a light blue outfit, had light blue skin that was just a few shades darker then her two eldest daughters, lightning bolt facial markings above her eyes, and gold colored eyes, emerged from the kitchen and hug and kiss her bondmate before moving to embrace Arla.

Arla asked as she pulled away from her mom, "So, things been mostly the same back here?"

Arla's mom shrugged, "Mostly. The shop's still in business, your sisters still cause me no end of joy and grief, and you and your father are back home again. With one exception, things haven't really changed any here."

Arla gave her mom a curious look, "And what may that be?"

Arla's mom smiled and pointed to a being Arla had not yet noticed and said, "You have a visitor."

Arla looked to the being standing behind the couch and instantly straightened her posture. The asari was dressed in an all white one piece outfit that had a 'V' shape in the front, showing off a good portion of her well developed chest. Around her waist was a light brown belt that had a Warp Sword hanging from it.

The asari was several centimeters taller than all the other asari present, had light purple skin, no facial markings, and green eyes. She radiated a cold confidence that Arla couldn't help but tremble slightly at.

With a small smile on her face the asari walked over to Arla and introduced herself in a calm and polite voice, "Greetings Arla Selemi. I am Phora, Servant of the Justicar Code. I have traveled a great distance to speak with you."

Arla nearly forgot to breath as she responded, "Y-You...you have?"

Justicar Phora nodded and said in a reassuring voice, "I have. And please, do relax. If you are anything like your family then you have nothing to fear from me," Phora turned to Arla's mother and bowed her head slightly, "They have been most generous hosts, and I am honored by their hospitality."

Arla's mother blushed slightly, "The honor is ours Justicar. I never thought I would be blessed enough to have one of your esteemed Order grace our home."

Phora smiled and lead Arla to the far side of the living room before beginning in a neutral voice, "Before we start, I trust you know why I'm here?"

Arla nodded before putting her hands behind her back and bowing her head slightly and answering, "Yes Justicar. I...I applied to join the Order a few months back. I...I must say I did not expect to hear back so soon. Or for one of your esteemed group to honor me and my family by visiting us."

Phora smiled and explained, "We are a very small order and most of us are usually occupied it is true, but we also get very few applications to join our ranks. As such, every application is considered and investigated. Yours was given special priority. First due to the rarity of asari from this continent to wish to join the Order, and second due to your extreme youth."

Arla looked confused, "My...my youth Justicar?"

Phora nodded, "Yes. According to your packet you are just fifty four years old. Is that not correct?"

Arla looked directly at her feet and answered as quickly as she could speak, "It is Justicar. Forgive my stupidity. I...I just meant that I did not feel young, and that...that I did not feel that it would be an issue. Biologically and legally I'm an adult and-"

Phora put her hand on Arla's shoulder and said in a reassuring voice, "Relax Arla. _Breath_. I did not mean to say you are not an adult, merely that one so young does not often wish to take on the perils of the life of a Justicar. I also did not mean to insinuate you are not mature enough to handle such either. In fact, after taking the last few days to investigate you I do believe you may be the best candidate I've seen in _centuries_."

Arla smiled and asked in a disbelieving voice, "R-Really?"

Phora nodded, "Really. Everyone whom I have talked to, from former teachers to coworkers to friends, all speak highly of you. All I have talked to see you as mature, intelligent, hard working, and loyal to those close to you. Some may have called you harsh and uncompromising, but those are traits we look for in potential candidates."

Arla took a breath and dared to ask, "Justicar does...does this mean I am going to be allowed to try to join to Order?"

Phora nodded but gave her a serious look as she explained, "Yes. But Arla, training to become a Justicar is not an _easy_ challenge. The training takes decades and has a high casualty rate. All who go through it suffer great pain, and not all of it physical. You will be pushed to your limits mentally and emotionally, and many simply are not able to handle the pressure. And even if you succeed, it is a _hard_ life. A violent and dangerous life where you are almost certain to die well before your due time fighting against the most Evil and heinous criminals the galaxy has to offer. Are you sure you want that?"

Arla didn't hesitate in her answer, "Yes."

Phora gave her a curious look, "Why?"

Arla took a deep breath and began, "Because...because...Honestly Justicar? The galaxy is a dark place. A violent, dark, Evil place where the strong prey on the weak, where the guilty go unpunished when the innocent are condemned to suffer. Where Chaos and Madness rule and where Order and Reason are nowhere to be found. Where people are forced to live in fear and hide in their homes helpless to do anything to make the galaxy Brighter."

Arla looked Phora in the eyes and said in a determined voice devoid of any doubt, "Justicar, what I want, more than _anything_ else, is to make the galaxy Better. To make Order out of the Chaos. To make it so that people aren't afraid in their own homes at night. To make it so that everyone, everywhere, can feel safe knowing that no Evil will come to harm them out of fear of what will happen if it does. I want…"

Arla was at a loss for words for a second before continuing, "I want to be able to live in a galaxy where the people in it are _safe_ , _free_ , and _happy_. This simply can not happen while Injustice exists. I will do everything in my power to eliminate injustice if I am given the opportunity."

Arla let out a long breath, "That is why Justicar I seek to join the Order. You and yours are the only Light flickering in a vast sea of Darkness. I wish to become a part of that Light."

Phora seemed to accept that answer, "Very well then. Could you be ready to leave tomorrow?"

Arla was surprised at that, "T-Tomorrow Justicar?"

Phora explained, "I have been staying with your family the last few days and have explained all that training will entail. Your mother and sisters were horrified by some of it, but all still believed you would wish to go through with it. I will tell you of it later tonight, but assuming you still wish to leave, and I believe you will, we would depart tomorrow. Is that acceptable?"

Arla looked unsure for a few moments before meeting Phora's gaze and nodding, "Yes."

Phora smiled, "Very well then. Whereas your mother has already offered, I will stay for dinner. After that I shall tell you of the training you will have to endure, and again give you the option to stay here. If you still decide to try and join the Order, I will give you this one night with your family. I will be at the spaceport tomorrow at 0700. Meet me there ready to depart, assuming you have not changed your mind by then of course."

With that, Phora went into the kitchen to help Arla's family make dinner.

Arla just stood frozen for several minutes, not believing what had happened. A Justicar here? In her home? One who said her application was accepted and she would at least be given a chance to prove herself and make the galaxy a better place? This was...beyond anything Arla had ever imagined.

In that moment, Arla was happier and more excited for her future then she had ever been.

That night, after the Justicar had left, Arla laughed, played, and enjoyed every moment she could with her family before saying goodnight and getting as good a night's rest as she was able with her mind spinning over how fast her whole life had just changed. When she awoke the next morning she left a small handwritten note to her family wishing them all the best, left with a small collection of clothes and a few old photographs, and met Phora at the spaceport.

Arla didn't know what fate had in store for her, but she felt ready for whatever hardships the Justicars or the universe were about to throw at her.

* * *

 **Nos Astra, Illium. 2175.**

Lt. Arla Selemi and Specialist Cyessa Tasia emerged from a parking garage near the Nos Astra trading floor, the sniper pulling up her omni tool to find the exact location of the bar. The two had parked on one of the lower levels of the complex, meaning the inhabitants were largely of the poorer classes that made up the vast majority of Illium's population.

Though that did not necessarily mean they would run into trouble on their way to the bar, both asari came armed just in case. Cyessa with an acolyte pistol at her hip and her Harpoon Gun sniper rifle on her back, and Arla with her Warp Sword.

Many on this level were dressed in worn out suits, work clothes that had been used so frequently that many had a considerable number of holes in them, and even many asari were wearing robes whose color had long faded. Most didn't give the two mercenaries a second look, though any passing asari would give Arla a wide berth if they noticed her Warp Sword.

The shops the on this level, while relatively clean, did not have the same vibrant and interactive displays advertising their wares those on the upper levels did. Instead they only showed a few pictures of merchandise or a hastily made add. A thick layer of clouds hid the sun, casting shadows over the area. A gentle breeze helped keep the asari cool in their otherwise warm outfits.

Arla asked as the two began to walk towards their destination, "So what was this place called again?"

Cyessa answered in a cheery tone, "Eternity Bar."

Arla gave a few of the shops a glance as the pair continued down the walkway, "Eternity _Bar_? Not _Brothel_?"

Cyessa shook her head, "Nope. The Matriarch was pretty clear about the distinction. Why? Thinking about getting laid after we're done?"

Arla shrugged and put her hands in the pockets of her robe as the two walked through ever thicker crowds of beings, "No, but I promised Elzia I'd take a few pictures if they have any dancers. So if this place doesn't, would you mind if we made a quick stop there?"

Cyessa gave the taller asari a curious look, "Stop in a brothel just to take a few pictures? Really?"

Arla replied as the pair went up a few flights of stairs and emerged on the same level as the trading floor, "Why not? I'm sure there've been weirder requests made there. Besides, we can't exactly take a few consorts back to base with us now can we? Elzia would just tear herself open."

Cyessa just shrugged as the pair crossed several terminals manned by stock brokers and the occasional information dealer, "I guess. Still, they _could_ just meld. Doubt the doctors would mind that."

Arla laughed for several seconds before managing to say through a few chuckles, "And just when has Elzia _ever_ focused on the mental aspects of sex over the physical ones?"

Cyessa sighed and shook her head, "Fine, fine. We'll take a few pictures on the way back. Still think we'll get a few odd looks though."

Arla gave her a smirk as the two cleared the trading floor and neared their destination, "Any weirder than the ones we got from our requests for the Janiris party last year?"

Cyessa pointed a finger at Arla and shot back in an annoyed tone, "None of those were mine! Raria and Leria decided to experiment with those toys, and I don't even know where the _fierfek_ they got all those costumes from. And of course you and Ally had to order your own private dungeon worth of wips and chains you both threw away a week later!"

Arla folded her arms over her chest and looked over at the short teal asari as the two reached the entrance to Eternity Bar, "Really? _None_ of the requests were yours? What about that Hanar prostitute who was _specifically_ asking for you?"

Cyessa began to glow as she roared loudly enough for everyone in a fifty meter radius to hear, "That was _Elzia's_ doing! I keep telling you people, I'm Not Into Hanar!"

Arla put up her hands and apologised, "Alright, I'm sorry. Won't mention it again."

Cyessa's glare didn't relent.

Arla said in a heartfelt voice as she softened her posture and put her hand on Cyessa's shoulder, "I'm _sorry_. Truly. I didn't mean to upset you, and I promise if I ever hear anyone say anything about that... incident again, I'll _end_ it. It that alright?"

Cyessa let out a long sigh, looked down at her feet, and nodded, "Yeah. Apology accepted. Sorry about that. It's just...people are pretty quick to judge others based on who they _think_ they might be sleeping with. And I don't like people thinking I'm some kind of deviant in addition to them also thinking I'm a psychopath."

Arla gave her a nod but also gave her a confused look, "I thought you Krogan didn't care about what others thought of you."

Cyessa explained, "The Krogan in me doesn't. The Asari in me does. I know in my head it doesn't matter what others say or think. But, in my heart, it still hurts to think my _vode_ might judge me based on what they _perceive_ to be true, rather than what _is_. Does that make sense?"

Arla gave her a sympathetic look before staring down at her Warp Sword, "Complete sense. You're not the only one people judge based on rumors or first appearances."

Arla looked back up at her friend and then gestured to the door, "Anyway, we gonna stand here all day or are we actually going to go inside? Because I don't know about you, but I could really use a drink right now."

Cyessa smiled, and the two commandos entered the bar.

* * *

Matriarch Aethyta, dressed in a dark red and orange robe, surveyed the bar as she refilled a Salarian's drink.

Despite it being fairly early afternoon, Eternity had the majority of its seats filled with customers. Some were shift workers down at the docks who either had just gotten off work or were about to go in. Some were brokers of various trades who needed a drink to get through the day and could only find the time during their lunch hour. A few others were mercenaries who had just gotten back from a long deployment.

One such group, a half dozen strong squad comprised of equal parts Humans and Turians dressed in crimson colored armor, were getting more than a little rowdy. They were sitting around a table where the dancer, a very young asari with medium blue skin, no facial markings, brown eyes, and a figure that had been blessed (or maybe _cursed_ given her current situation) with extremely _generous_ curves, named Lea was doing her best to keep her composure as the mercenaries continued to make lewd and suggestive statements.

The squad had entered the bar thinking it was the nearby brothel, but had decided to stay when they saw the dancers. The squad leader, a female Turian named Calicia, had asked Aethyta if they could get some... _private time_ with a few of her girls.

The Matriarch had then explained, in a borderline threatening tone the mercenary didn't seem to catch, that her girls were for looking only unless they themselves decided otherwise, and that Aethyta didn't think any of her people would be up for anything with Calicia's group.

The Turian continued to press the issue, stating her team just wanted to blow off some steam and asked if they could just get a show. Aethyta agreed, but on several conditions.

One: It would just be with one of her girls. She wanted to involve as few of her people as possible.

Two: It would be in public. Normally Aethyta only had dances involving full nudity take place in the back, but she wanted to keep an eye on this group herself.

Three: They had to be willing to pay a lot more than would usually be charged for a group showing.

Finally: This was only going to happen if she could find a dancer who was available and actually willing to take the job.

Aethyta had hoped the female mercenary would take the several hints that she was being all but asked to leave, but the Turian had agreed. Aethyta had asked her people if there were any willing to take the job, emphasizing several times it was optional. Much to the Matriarch's dismay, Lea had agreed to it. When asked why the dancer only said she really didn't mind and that she could use the extra pay.

So, against her better judgement, Aethyta had set the mercenaries up with a table about fifteen meters away from the bar. One where Aethyta could keep a good eye on them.

As she watched the table Aethyta couldn't help but shake her head and sigh as Lea, who by now was dressed only in a thong that barely covered her azure and a bra that was barely containing her large bust as she twirled around her pole, grew more and more visibly uncomfortable at the comments made by her clients. Lea was always a nice asari and a hard worker, so it pained Aethyta to see her in this situation.

Still, the mercenaries had all followed the rules Aethyta had laid out. None of them had tried to do anything, at least not yet, and though Aethyta wanted to kick them out, she simply couldn't. As bad as it was, Lea wasn't the first dancer to have to deal with a few of the more _disruptive_ types, and they had already paid a lot of money for this.

 _Still, any of those_ chakaars _try anything I'll rip their spines out through their_ shebs _and beat them to death with them!_

Turning her attention back to the main entrance, Aethyta saw one of the Eclipse commandos from the other night, dressed in a suit of black armor, and a significantly taller asari she didn't know, who dressed in an archaic robe, enter her establishment and start walking toward the bar.

The shorter teal asari had a smile on her face as she looked around at the bar. Her strides were quick, though she seemed to be relaxed and at peace with herself. As if she and her friend _hadn't_ nearly died the other night for a dozen different reasons.

The asari to her left also was looking about the room, but instead of a smile she had a...a scowl wouldn't be quite right, but a look of determination perhaps? A look that said she was in no mood to play games and one would do well not to make her angry. The taller asari also took far slower, more deliberate strides. Her body was tense, clearly ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

As the two walked up to the bar Aethyta couldn't help but smile and greeted them in a loud and warm voice, " _Su cuy'gar ad'ika_."

Aethyta held up a finger and guessed, "Wait...don't tell me...Cyessa right?" The short teal asari nodded and Aethyta looked over at the other one, "Don't remember you as one of the people who barged into my home and threatened to murder me if I made a wrong move. Mind if I know your name?"

The taller asari smirked and bowed slightly as she introduced herself, "Lt. Arla Selemi. It's an honor to meet you Matriarch. Thank for for saving my friend."

Aethyta laughed a bit and waved her hand, "Try any of that formal _osik_ around me again and I'll Warp your head off." The Matriarch extended a hand and introduced herself, "Aethyta Nuranis, of Clan Ravanor."

The pale blue asari gripped the other's forearm tightly for a few seconds before letting go. With the introductions out of the way Aethyta asked what the two would be having as the commandos sat down. Arla ordering a bottle of Noverian Rum, while Cyessa got a beer.

Aethyta began as she poured Arla's drink, "So, I take it that other one made it through the night?"

Arla nodded and answered as Cyessa took a long sip of her drink, "Yes. She's still recovering, but she'll be alright."

Aethyta smiled, "Glad to hear it. I'd hate for all my hard work to have gone to waste."

Arla chuckled as she took her shot and Aethyta poured her another one.

The Matriarch began, "So, you're also-"

The conversation was interrupted by a series of shouts coming from Lea's table. Looking over at the group, the Matriarch saw Lea had removed the last of her clothes and that the mercenaries had consumed enough alcohol and gotten so wound up that they seemed to have forgotten about the dancers being off limits, as a couple of them looked about ready to try and climb up on the table.

Aethyta cursed herself for letting this happen and was about to deploy a Singularity when Arla, for lack of a better term, _teleported_ from her seat at the bar clear across the room to Lea's table.

What happened next sent shockwaves of fear down the spines of every asari in Eternity except Cyessa, who was already dialing for emergency services.

Aethyta didn't register that however.

All the Matriarch registered was the asari she had just been talking to was now holding a drawn Warp Sword to a drunk and probably violent mercenary's neck.

* * *

As soon as Arla heard the shouts and screams coming from elsewhere in the bar, she turned her head and saw the source of the commotion. A squad of a half dozen mercenaries dressed in crimson armor were harassing a naked dancer on the stage, and even seemed ready to get far more... _animated_... than would be good for anyone. One, a female turian who seemed to be in charge of the group, had even cleared the small fence around the table and looked about ready to climb up on it.

Arla didn't hesitate. The tall pale blue asari leaped from her chair, biotically charged across the room, and as soon as she was close to the female Turian, drew her Warp Sword and leveled the dark purple plasma blade just centimeters away from the mercenary's neck.

 _Shuuuuuum!_

The dancer backed up against the pole as soon as the blade was activated, and Arla noticed the look of sheer terror on her face. It was a look she had seen many times before, and one she assumed every asari in the bar now had. It always saddened Arla to see that look directed at her, but there was little she could do about it right now.

All activity in the bar had stopped. All eyes were on the Eclipse commando and the squad of mercenaries that now surrounded her. The only noise was the soft music playing overhead.

After a few seconds the Turian female gave Arla a dangerous look as she said in a threatening tone, "This doesn't concern you. Me and my people are just having a little party. I suggest you take your glow stick and go."

Arla met the Turian's eyes and responded in a dangerously low voice, "This party's over. Leave. _Now_."

The female Turian smirked and almost laughed back, "Oh yeah? You're surrounded babe. And I promise you my people aren't going to go easy on you if you keep this up. So why don't you do the smart thing and head out, huh?"

Arla surveyed her surroundings. She had three Humans, two females and one male, and two Turian males, surrounding her now, in addition to the female in front of her. All had assault rifles or shotguns and pistols and were clearly getting ready to use them. Still, Arla didn't back down.

The pale blue asari just shook her head and said, "Last warning. Don't do this. You won't like what happens."

The female Turian shrugged, "Suit yourself. Weapons free people!"

A male Turian to Arla's left was the first to raise a shotgun, but before he could use it, Arla turned her body to the side and swiped upward, severing the Turian's arms at the elbows.

As he collapsed screaming in pain, Arla continued to spin and slashed the male Human next to him across the chest as he attempted to use his assault rifle. The plasma cut through his armor easily, and he too began to wail in pain as the force of the attack sent him to the ground.

Arla twirled the Sword and spared a glance behind her and stabbed the female Turian square in the chest as she tried to draw her sidearm.

As she fell gripping her injury Arla pulled her Sword out of the hostile and threw her blade into the chest of the last male Turian on the other side of the table. She then biotically pulled it out and leaped over to where the last two hostiles were standing, with one on either side and both just in front of the asari.

Arla moved quickly between the two, bringing her blade up and severing the hands of the one on the left and stabbing the other in the back as she moved past them in one quick motion.

The tall pale blue asari pulled her blade out from the last hostile as she fell to the ground. Turning to survey her work, Arla was pleased to see that all her attackers had survived, at least for now. They were all however screaming and obviously in pain from the way they were writing on the ground.

Arla then noticed two police officers and a few EMT's had entered the bar and were staring at her with a mixture of awe and fear.

The pale blue asari asked as she seethed her Sword, "How long have you people been standing there?"

The asari officer on the right, a being of slender build, light purple skin, and grey eyes, said in a shaky voice, "L-Long enough to know t-they were at fault Justicar. We...we will handle things from here. W-with your approval of course!"

Arla hated it when she was mistaken for a Justicar, but knew this would only be made worse if she tried to correct them. So she instead merely nodded and let the EMT's take the mutilated mercenaries away, sighing as she watched them leave.

 _And to think the day was going_ so well _until that happened._

* * *

Aethyta watched the whole scene unfold. It was not an easy thing to scare a being as old and experienced as the Matriarch, but what she had just witnessed? An asari, who had to be at least Justicar trained if not a member of the Order herself, obliterate six hostiles in a matter of seconds with no prior warning?

 _That_ scared her.

Aethyta didn't know what was going to happen next, so after regaining her composure she asked Cyessa, who was the only asari in Eternity not paralyzed by fear and had simply finished her drink watching the scene unfold, " _Ad'ika_ , do I um...need to be afraid of you and your friend there?"

Cyessa just sighed and shook her head, "No Matriarch. Arla's not a Justicar, so none of your people here need to worry. She just gets a bit...caught up in other people's business sometimes and can't help herself. Sorry if she scared you. She's actually usually a lot of fun to hang around with. As long as you don't mind the occasional rant on how twisted and Evil the universe is anyway."

Aethyta visibly relaxed and nodded, "Good to know."

The Matriarch then pulled up her omni tool and dialed a number. When she got a voicemail she nearly shouted into the device, "Lucretia, it's me. I know you're there, so listen up! There's been an...incident down here, and I need you to take over. I don't care if it's your day off, you get your spiky ass down here! You hear me?!"

A female and tired sounding voice answered back before the line went dead, "I'm on my way."

Satisfied that someone would be able to watch the bar soon, Aethyta walked over to Lea's table, where the dancer was now shaking, sweating, and looked like she might vomit she was so nervous. Arla hadn't moved from the spot where she eliminated the last hostile, a dark expression on her face. Eternity was still quiet as a tomb except for the music, and all the inhabitants were visibly shocked by what they had witnessed.

As Aethyta walked up to Lea's table and offered her hand to the young dancer she called out, "That was what I like to call 'Asari Business'. Go back to your drinks people. Show's over."

The bar slowly went back to life at Aethyta's words, though all were talking in lower voices and the dancers were not moving with nearly the enthusiasm they had before.

Helping Lea down from the stage, Aethyta wrapped her arms around the nude and traumatized dancer and slowly lead her into the locker room after taking one final look around making sure there was nothing requiring her immediate attention.

Sitting down at a bench Aethyta quietly and kindly said, " _Ad'ika_ I'm gonna have to go back outside and make sure nothing else goes wrong. You get dressed and I'll take you home as soon as Lucretia shows up. Sound alright?"

Lea only nodded slightly, the dancer breathing irregularly and still looking quite ill. Aethyta's heart sank at the sight.

 _Last time I ever service a group like them_. _This shouldn't have happened_ ad'ika _, and for that I'm sorry. Won't ever happen again though, you can be_ damn _sure of that!_

Giving her employee a tight hug the Matriarch slowly stood and ventured out into the bar. Everything seemed to be normal, and Arla had by now sat back down next to Cyessa, both commandos looking tired and upset over what happened, with Arla looking particularly gloomy.

Before Aethyta could go and talk to them however, a female Turian dressed in a dark blue outfit and a scowl on her face walked up to Aethyta and asked what was the matter.

Aethyta growled as she pointed to the Eclipse troops, "The matter Lucretia is one of those asari there just maimed six people! Granted, she did it with good reason, but Lea's still probably traumatized. So here's what's going to happen: I'm going to make sure those two won't cause any more problems, then I'm going to take Lea home and watch her for a few days and make sure she'll be OK. Maybe get her into some therapy if she needs it."

Aethyta pointed at her employee, "What _you_ are gonna do is make sure everything runs smoothly while I'm gone and make sure nobody else gets any stupid ideas. One incident is enough I think, don't you?"

Whatever anger Lucretia had when she walked in was gone. The female Turian nodded and said, "Alright, got it. Anything else?"

Aethyta shook her head and the two went over to the bar where the commandos were sitting.

* * *

Arla sighed as she saw Aethyta and a Turian female walk behind the counter and stare at her and her friend.

Aethyta looked like she was about to say something, but before she could speak, Arla raised her hands and cut her off in a sorry tone, "I know, I know: get out and don't ever come back. Sorry about the incident."

Aethyta gave her a strange look and responded, "No, no it's...it's not exactly like that." Aethyta sighed and explained, "Look _ad'ika_ , I'm not gonna lie, you scared me back there, and I don't scare easily."

Aethyta's look softened somewhat and she continued, " _But_ , you did me a good turn by helping out one of my people. Granted, it was in a pretty violent way that might require therapy to get over, but it's not like you had much choice. Point is, I'm not kicking you or your people out. I just want you both to promise if you ever come back in that you'll try and not cause an incident next time. Deal?"

Both commandos agreed, and as they paid their tab (each leaving a tip several times what their bill was), the dancer from earlier walked up to the counter, albeit a few meters from where Arla was standing. She was dressed in a loose fitting green robe that did a good job of hiding how well developed her body was.

Aethyta and the dancer both walked out, the Matriarch with one arm around the dancer's shoulders as they left.

Arla and Cyessa excited not long after that, the entire bar watching them as they went.

As the pair exited Eternity, Cyessa let out a long sigh and commented, "Well, all things considered, that could actually have been a lot worse. Still didn't exactly thank the Matriarch properly though."

Arla looked over at her friend and gave her a sympathetic look, "We can always come back some other day. Besides, I think she knows her actions were appreciated."

The short teal asari nodded as they started to walk through the trading district, "I guess. Still wish I could have had at least a few words with her."

Arla commented, "I'm sure you'll get another chance. Now, do you want me to drop you off back at base, or would you mind going with me to the brothel? I never got a chance to take any pictures, and I _did_ promise Elzia I'd take some for her."

Cyessa replied, "Sure, I'm game. Mind if we stay longer than just a few minutes though? After all that's happened the last few days, I could _really_ use some stress relief."


	6. A Day in the life of Irri part 1

**AN:** I was originally going to publish one Very long chapter, but in the end decided to split it up into two bits, with the second part being much shorter. It should be out in a day or two, and should be viewed as part of this update rather then it's own chapter.

* * *

 _"By far your most difficult task will be managing your Commandos. They're insubordinate at best, and borderline_ subversive _at worst. What's more, they're_ completely _unpredictable. Still, they're the best troops we have. Often the success or failure of a campaign will depend on the outcome of their missions. My advice for you would be to tolerate them as long as they complete their missions, don't cause too much collateral damage, and don't upset our employers."_

\- Major Zeya Delinga giving her relief, then Captain Irri Camas, a few words of advice a week before Major Delinga retired from mercenary work.

* * *

 **Nos Astra, Illium. 0423 local time.**

Major Irri Camas stared up at the cracked ceiling of her apartment and sighed as she rubbed her forehead. In a few minutes her alarm would go off and she would have to get ready to head into work. And, as usual, she was dreading the thought of that. As with what happened more often than not, she had tossed and turned through the night, barely getting any real rest.

Irri's mind was always on something, always wondering. She could never just let things be. She was always fretting over what meetings she would be having the next day, the missions she would have to send her Commandos on, the types of problems the regular troops were having keeping order on one of the most dangerous so called 'civilized' worlds in the galaxy.

The only thing that gave the cyan skinned asari comfort was that the weekend started tomorrow, giving her a few days to re-charge and forget about her responsibilities.

 _Well, as long as no one tries to invade the system, our bosses don't order us to deploy on some distent rock for reasons they don't feel like sharing, or any other crisis occurs._

Irri pushed such thoughts from her head, pulled the covers off her body revealing the white T-shirt and grey shorts she had worn to bed, and sat up before switching off her alarm clock on the stand next to her bed just before it was about to go off. Hunching over, Irri rubbed her face as she tried to summon enough energy to stand and get ready to leave.

The apartment the Major lived in was small, just barely big enough for one person. Her bed was only large enough for her. Her room had a small dresser containing a couple suits of armor, a few pairs of 'normal' Eclipse issued clothes used for PT and casual wear, and a few pairs of well worn robes. There was a small desk by her bedside, just large enough for the extranet monitor Irri had.

The Major eventually stood, albeit slowly and stiffly, walked over to her closet, and pulled out a few clean undergarments before heading into the bathroom, which was as tightly packed as the rest of the Major's dwelling. It contained a small shower, a single sink, toilet, and medicine cabinet that was well stocked with stress relievers.

After taking a brief shower Irri quickly dressed in a suit of standard Eclipse armor and went out into the kitchen. The last section of her apartment had a metal table that was so small it could only reasonably fit one person, a small stove directly over an oven and below a microwave, with cabinets on either side housing cups, dishes, silverware, and a few non perishable food items. On the opposite side was a small refrigerator that was stocked only with a few containers of leftovers from various restaurants and a few different types of drinks.

Pulling out a cylindrical container of blue colored juice that was nearly empty, the Major didn't even bother getting a cup as she went back into her room, sat down at her desk, and set her monitor to play soft, non lyrical music as she finished off her container of juice and slowly forced herself to wake up. After her juice was gone and she had listened to a few of her favorite songs, Irri slowly stood, shut her monitor down, and headed out the door of her apartment. After walking out the front door of the large block shaped complex, she entered the parking lot, got into her maroon colored sky car, and headed towards the base.

Irri lived in a fairly low rent apartment complex a few minutes from the Eclipse base. She was the only Eclipse member in the battalion to do so, mostly due to her being the only being who could afford to live in a halfway decent apartment in a relatively safe part of the city. It wasn't a popular thing to be forced to live on a military installation, but it was one the Eclipse troops had to accept living on a world as dangerous as Illium. If the battalion were on any other world and the soldiers had any choice in the matter, then all the officers and most NCOs would be living off base.

Still, the fact was, they _didn't_ have a choice. Eclipse would give the troops more money for rent and food if they chose to live elsewhere, but it wouldn't be enough to survive anywhere but the poorest and most dangerous districts.

It was fortunate, the Major thought as she waved through several waves of early morning traffic, that the vast majority of her troops were in the Maiden stage of their lives, and therefore almost certainly didn't have a family they needed to support. Even the small number of troops who could be called Matrons such as herself, Captain T'Nira, and Lieutenant Selemi had wisely chosen not to start a family. What few troops she had who _did_ have children or spouses to support had them living off world.

Irri knew it was difficult for those people, but she knew from first hand experience it was better this way. Illium was simply no place to raise a family.

As the Major parked her sky car into her designated spot in front of the battalion HQ she took a deep breath, reminded herself she was one day away from a three day break, and headed into work.

* * *

No sooner had Irri entered her office then she noticed another asari had already arrived. Sitting in a chair in front of her desk, data pad in hand and dressed in a suit of dark blue armor with red trim, was none other than Captain Nuesera Wasea, one of her Company Commanders. Taking a deep breath, Irri forced herself to calm down as she slowly walked over to her desk and sat down, Captain Wasea not being able to meet her eyes even after several tense minutes.

Eventually Irri asked in a neutral tone, "Yes Captain?"

Wasea gave her CO the data pad and reported in a very tired voice, "Figured you would want to hear my side of the story first before the press go nuts over this."

Irri slowly read over the report, her stomach turning as she did. She was greatly disturbed by what she saw, and had to read it over two more times before she was certain she had everything right.

Setting the data pad down she gave Wasea a dangerous look and asked in a threatening tone, "So, a riot broke out last night in one of the poorer and most run down districts, _again_ , the police and your troops responded, and you used lethal force against a crowd of civilians and now a hundred and seventeen people are dead. Is that about right?"

Wasea shook her head and defended, "No, not exactly. Like it said in the report, the rioters had already destroyed a large portion of the district. They weren't backing down even when we told them to disperse. They were throwing everything at us from rocks and broken bottles to biotic blasts. Seven police officers were injured, one _killed_ , and the only reason none of our people became casualties is because of our armor.

"And the body count? The police are now reporting at least _seventy two_ of those people were innocent bystanders killed by the rioters. Not our doing."

Irria gave her a disbelieving look, "And why exactly did this riot break out in the first place?"

Wasea shrugged, "Lack of sanitation? Lack of clean drinking water? Too high a cost of living? Lack of decent jobs? How the fuck should I know? All I know is we had a riot on our hands that caused _millions_ of credits in damages and killed _dozens_ of people. What did you want us to do? Just stand back and let them tear the whole city apart?"

Irri sighed. This as a Goddess damned mess. Still, it wasn't the first time such an incident had happened, and it probably wouldn't be the last either. Which probably meant that when she briefed her superiors about this incident they probably wouldn't care too much.

Her superiors never cared much about collateral damage in situations like these as long as order was restored.

Irri rubbed her temples and responded, "Point taken. If that's it Captain I'll see you at the 0900 briefing."

Wasea nodded and left the room. The Major shook her head as she watched her leave.

 _And to think she actually showed promise when she was in charge of her own squad. Last time I make a Commando a Company Commander!_

Shaking her head, Irri activated the terminal at her desk and began to prepare for the morning briefings she had to attend.

* * *

 **0653 local time.**

Major Camas exited her office carrying a few data pads, walked down the hallway a few meters, and entered a large room that had a dozen desks lined up in front of a long rectangular table that had thirteen seats all facing toward the desks. Irri sat down at one of the desks, set her data pads down in front of her, and waited for the meeting to start.

At 0700 on the dot the room came alive with dozens of holograms of various figures, the vast majority of them asari, appearing at either the desks or the table. Those at the desks were either high ranking police officers or mercenary leaders like Irri. About half of the mercenaries present were Eclipse officers.

Those sitting at the table were the CEO's of the thirteen most prominent corporations on Illium. Eleven of them were Asari, one was a Salarian female, and one (the CEO of Eldfell Ashland Energy) was a Human male. The Executives were dressed in the most expensive suites and robes that were available on the market. The police and mercenaries however were either dressed in simple business casual uniforms or armor.

The meeting between the various figures took place every morning during the regular work week to discuss the state of the Terminus Systems in terms of regional conflicts that might affect the businesses, any unrest going on on the planet, any needs or requests the police and mercenaries had, or any other topics that needed to be discussed.

This morning wasn't really any different than any other over the past couple of weeks. Pirate attacks continued to escalate in the Attican Traverse, with some groups being so bold as to begin to raid near the border of Outer Council Space and Human Alliance controlled territory. The pirates were using top of the line weaponry, more often than not of Batarian origin. The raiders were also showing a frightening amount of competence in battle, with many now attacking in platoon sized units and having military precision in their attacks.

The Executives had ordered their Special Forces troops and had paid Information Brokers to look into what was behind the attacks, but nothing had come up yet.

While all had been hit hard by the recent rise in raiding, EAE was suffering the worst of it. They had lost two _Nostromo_ class freighters in the past week in addition to the one Null Squad managed to liberate. One carrying a shipment of Palladium that had been attacked and stolen by pirates, the other a shipment of eezo and being lost when it accidentally slipped through a Spatial Anomaly (the current term being used for the Wormholes that were suddenly beginning to appear at various and seemingly random locations across the cosmos) while in FTL and had not been able to pass back through before the Anomaly closed.

What's more, their facilities on Zorya, Caleston, and Helyme had come under attack several times, leading to heavy casualties for the security and civilian employees alike.

As a result of this, EAE's stock had lost ten percent of its value over the past week, and it didn't seem like it would rebound any time soon.

Other than that there was little else of note that happened during the meeting until in terms of status report on the end of the Executives. When the time came for the CEO's to ask questions of their subordinates Irri had a question directed at her by Nysha Dantius, CEO of the Dantius Corporation.

Nysha was an asari who had a skin tone a fairly light shade of blue bordering on teal, no facial markings, brown eyes, and was still in her early Matron years. She wore an especially elegant dark blue robe.

Nysha asked Irri in an agitated voice as she stared directly at the Major, "Major Camas, would you like to explain just what exactly happened this morning thanks to a few of your more...shall I say... _trigger happy psychopaths_!?"

Irri was surprised by this. Though she was of course embarrassed and a little bit scared of what might happen to her, she was actually happy to see at least _one_ of the CEO's was agitated by the riot and seemed to actually care.

The Major straightened up a bit in her seat and did her best to report the situation as Wasea had explained it to her. Irri then forwarded reports from the Eclipse troops at the scene of the violence, as well as various police reports corroborating the story of the mercenaries.

When Irri was done Nysha asked in a no less angry tone then when she began, "That's it? Are you sure there isn't something you're forgetting? Something... _else_ that might have happened earlier today?"

Irri was frightened by the prospect she had forgotten something or had missed some important event, but as she had nothing else to add, the Major was forced to simply shake her head and report that there was nothing else.

Nysha gave her a glare but nodded, and the meeting continued.

Aside from Irri's report on the riot that had broken out, there was surprisingly little else that happened. One of the other Eclipse commanders asked when the troops stationed on Illium would be getting their own troops transports, only to be told it simply wasn't feasible at the moment.

The other Eclipse officer began to protest, but an asari Executive cut her off, saying that there was no need at this time for the troops on Illium to have their own transports. The Executive reminded them all of how rarely the battalions were deployed, on how other Eclipse units were usually able to provide transport when they were, and how even when they weren't at the relative ease at which commercial transport could be arranged, and that any troop transports would have to have ships to escort them, which would be another series of expenses altogether.

In short, the troops on Illium would not be getting any ships in addition to the small number of Corvettes they already had. There was just no need for the troops on Illium to have them (or so the Executives thought) or money for them even if there was one.

The Eclipse officers did a good job of hiding their dissatisfaction at the news, but inside they were severely agitated.

The meeting ended soon after that, with Nysha Dantius asking Major Camas to remain behind. As all the hologram faded out leaving only Irri and Nysha behind, the Major felt a sense of dread rising in her stomach.

Nysha asked in an openly hostile tone as soon as the two were alone, "You really have no idea what I was referring to earlier, do you?"

Irri shook her head, and Nysha tapped a few buttons on a control panel on her desk. Soon after, a hologram was projected in front of the Major.

It showed a Cafe that had outdoor seating and looked to be fairly busy, with several dozen customers of various races inside and out. Two such customers, Eclipse Commandos Irri recognized as members of Yayax Squad (one of the units that was on duty today) were sitting down at a table enjoying a cup of tea by the looks of things when all of a sudden an asari dressed in an expensive crimson robe with teal colored skin ran up to the table and began to talk to the two mercenaries.

It wasn't long before the 'talking' obviously became shouting on the part of the teal asari. One of the Commandos tried to calm her down, but before she could, four masked figures of unclear species dressed in pitch black armor charged onto the scene and began to shoot at the asari in the crimson robe and the two Commandos she was with.

One of the Commandos immediately threw up a biotic bubble around their position and the other drew their sidearm and killed two hostiles with headshots and obliterated the other two with a Biotic Blast. Once their attackers were dead the trio quickly ran off somewhere, one of the Commandos pulling up her omni-tool as she ran.

Irri was stunned by what she had just seen. She was about to say something when Nysha revealed, "The asari your Commandos just ran off with is my younger sister Merena. For obvious reasons, she never reported into work this morning, and this is the last time anyone has been able to confirm seeing her."

Nysha's voice hardened as she ordered, "Major, I don't care what other operations you have planned, what your people are doing, or what it might mean for this city if you have to redirect all your people. Right now you have one concern: finding my sister. I don't care who you have to bribe, kill, torture, or piss off to do it. Get It Done! Is that understood?!"

Irri nodded and Nysha's glare relented _slightly_ as she said, "Good. I'll be bringing in as much help as I can from various other sources to aid your efforts. Once she is found I want her brought to me personally so I can make sure nothing else happens to her. I expect hourly updates."

And with that, Nysha Dantius was gone.

Irri stood and ran over to her office to begin the operation and at least _try_ to call the members of Yayax Squad to see just what the fuck was going on. The Major hoped (but knew in her gut it wouldn't be) that this would all be resolved by just a few quick calls and turn out to be some horrific misunderstanding.

 _This is a Hell of a way to end the work week._

* * *

 **Serrice, Thessia. 1032 local time.**

Captain Allyna T'Nira, dressed in a pair of black pants, dark red shirt, and black jacket zipped her outer garment up as high as it would go as the wind picked up around her as she walked along the metal pathway in the park. The tall lavender asari having decided to go for a long walk to clear her head over the recent events.

The park was fairly large, with several kilometers of metal track along its perimeter, a large playground parents would bring their children to play, several gazebos and picnic tables, and even a large pond home to various fish and fowl. The trees had by now lost most of their leaves. The day was especially cold, with the wind at fairly high speeds making it all the worse. The one thing that made it all bearable was that there was not a cloud in the sky, the star's rays warming those who stood in them long enough.

Despite all this though there were still several beings enjoying themselves outside in addition to Allyna. Most were joggers dressed in heavy athletic clothing, but there was one family that was near the pond feeding the few remaining fowl that had not yet flown South for the Winter.

The Eclipse Captain had been staying in her mother's old apartment for the last week. Her mother had paid month's rent just before she died, so Allyna had been allowed to stay while she got everything taken care of. She had selected a few of her mother's more expensive outfits to take back with her, but everything else would be given to charity or simply thrown away.

Her mother's funeral had been a simple affair, with a few of her mother's old business associates in attendance. Allyna had felt numb during the whole process. But not in the sense that she was simply unable to process what she was feeling so much as...simply not feeling anything _at all_. As if this was just another mundane task that needed to be completed rather than saying goodbye to the person who had given her life.

Allyna wasn't sure if it was due to her long career in dealing with death or the lack of being able to build a real relationship with her mother, but in the end, the Eclipse Captain supposed it didn't matter. Her mother was gone, and with her, the only biological family she had ever known. And though Allyna regretted never making a connection with her, at the same time the Captain simply could not feel any real sense of loss at that fact.

Allyna looked down at the sidewalk as she passed the family feeding the fowl, wondering if her lack of empathy made her a bad person when a voice called out.

"Even after all these years, you _still_ walk around with your head down. Just _when_ will you ever learn Allyna?"

Allyna turned to her right to see an asari with light blue skin, black facial markings around her eyes and on her cheeks in the form of four horizontal lines, and light green eyes smiling at her. The asari was dressed in a dark blue robe that showed off her obviously pregnant figure.

Allyna recognized her instantly, "Matron Linala."

Linala Sarix, one of the very few teachers Allyna T'Nira had actually enjoyed having during her time at University, smiled and scooted over on her bench and responded, "Come, sit down. Tell me what you have been up to these past few centuries. And not that I've ever really cared all that much about formalities, but I'm afraid it's Matriarch Linala now."

Allyna bowed her head slightly and quickly apologised as she sat down, "I'm sorry Matriarch. I should have remembered-"

Linala waved her off and laughed a bit, "Oh stop it! You don't need to be so formal with me. You've been a graduate for centuries now."

Allyna laughed a bit and relaxed as she leaned back against the bench, "Yeah well...it's not exactly easy letting go of decades of forced reverence and centuries of respect."

Linala nodded and looked back at the young asari and the human male who were feeding the fowl and asked, "So, what brings you back to Serrice?"

What little mirth Allyna had faded with the question. The tall lavender asari explained her situation to her former teacher, and Allyna was again shocked at herself at how easily she stated her mother was gone and how little emotion she conveyed the information with.

 _I...I should be feeling something, right? That's what normal people go through when their relatives die. Isn't it?_

As soon as Allyna had finished, Linala gasped and put an arm around the other asari and said in a soft tone, "Allyna I'm...I'm so sorry."

Allyna nodded and replied in a quiet voice, "Yeah well...it was her time you know? Mom was 998. That's a long life Linala. She had a lot of successes, and...and…"

Allyna struggled with what else she could say. Mostly because there was simply nothing else she _wanted_ to say. The Commando simply had already come to terms with it, and there was nothing more that needed to be said.

Allyna added eventually, "And I believe she was content with her life when she passed."

That much the Captain was sure of at least. Though Allyna's mother had been a rather ambitious person, from what little correspondence the two had Allyna knew that over the last century her mother had stopped seeking advancement in her job, and instead began to simply enjoy the wealth and status she had already accumulated.

Linala nodded and said softly, "Then at least you can rejoice in that. Not everyone gets to be so fortunate." After a few minutes of silence Linala ventured in a quiet voice, "And just what have you been up to these past centuries?"

Allyna shrugged, "Mercenary work out in the Terminus and Traverse."

Linala gave her former student a curious look, "Really? After all these years you're still a soldier?"

Allyna leaned back on the bench and explained, "Sure, why not? It's actually _nothing_ like what you see in the vids. The pay is good, you travel a lot, the work usually isn't that hard, and as long as you have a lot of patience and can tolerate stupidity well enough, it can be a pretty rewarding career to have."

Linala nodded, "I see. So, this is going to be your permanent career then?"

Allyna shrugged, "Probably. I'm good at it and I honestly don't mind it. Why? What's wrong with that?"

Linala gave her a slightly disapproving look and she rubbed her swollen abdomen as she said, "Nothing. It just seems to me it might be difficult to raise a family and balance your commitments as a soldier is all."

Allyna let out a long and exhausted sigh, took a few moments to collect her thoughts, and against her better judgement revealed, "Matriarch Linala, I'm not sure I'm ever going to have children."

Linala stared at Allyna with a mixture of shock and disgust. In asari society it was an unwritten law that every asari would have at least one child to preserve the species. It didn't matter if it was what you wanted. It didn't matter if it was something you were capable of handling. You were going to have a child when you reached the middle years of your life and had a steady job. To do otherwise would invite almost as much shame and ridicule upon you as having a Pureblood child.

The look on Linala's face only drove home to Allyna how unpopular this decision would be, and how much it would alienate her from the rest of society. It pained Allyna to see such a look from someone she respected so highly when she was younger, but she accepted it. She had to get used to this look she knew, and what better time to start than now?

Linala asked in a low voice, "And just why is that?"

Allyna explained as patiently as she could, "Linala, my mom was 619 years old when she had me. With the amount of wealth she had even in her earlier Matron years I have no doubt she could have supported me and several others if she so desired. The fact of the matter is she didn't, and the only reason I'm alive right now is because society forced my mother to have me.

"To say I did not love my mother would be a lie, and I'm sure she loved me as much as she could given her personality. I do not want to say she neglected me, she was always there when I needed her, but she made no attempts to involve herself in my life _unless_ needed. I never wanted when I was young, and fortunately I was fairly well behaved growing up, but had I needed a more involved parent...well...I honestly can't say how I would have turned out.

"So you see Linala, I simply refuse to put a child at risk of growing up without a parent as I was more or less forced to. I also refuse to give up a career I honestly enjoy just because society tells me it is time to 'settle down' and get a different job I know I would hate. I know it will not be a popular choice, I know society at large will resent me, but in truth I simply don't care.

"I've honestly never felt at home anywhere I go, or that I ever had a real 'purpose' in life. No subject interested me in school, no hobby amused me for very long. I've...I've simply never felt at home anywhere, hence why I wish to stay a soldier as long as I can: I simply have no place else to go."

Allyna ended in an almost pleading tone, "I hope you understanding my reasoning Matriarch, as I've thought long and hard about this decision."

Linala stared off into the distance and noted in an emotionless voice, "You are still very young and have barely entered into your Matron stage, and the urge to settle down does not start in all of us immediately. You will change your mind in time I am sure."

Allyna responded, "Indeed I may Matriarch. But should I ever give up my career as a soldier and decide to start a family it will because I will have found a being worth bonding with and truly _want_ to start a family, not because society dictates I must."

Looking over at the human male and young asari across the sidewalk, Allyna saw they had finished feeding the fowl and were on their way back.

Standing, Allyna bowed slightly and said, "I thank you for your kind words in this most difficult time Matriarch. I wish you and your family many long and happy years together."

Linala didn't respond, only staring off into the direction of her bondmate and daughter as they came ever closer.

Allyna was hurt by that, but again, she accepted it. She had no choice but to after all.

Turning in the direction of her mother's apartment, the tall lavender asari headed home. Allyna was saddened by having to burn one of the few bridges she had in this city, but was no less resolute in her decision to live her own life by her own set of rules.


	7. A Day in the Life of Irri part 2

**A/N:** Here's the more _rushed_ half of the update. Sorry about how short it is, but remember: this posting and the previous chapter are meant to be viewed as one large update. Please let me know what you think.

* * *

 _"The lower levels of Nos Astra are in turmoil this morning, as a series of firefights between an as of yet unidentified crime syndicate and Eclipse mercenaries has left at least ninety seven criminals killed. This just hours after a riot broke out over a lack of clean drinking water, leaving at least a hundred and seventeen beings dead. The Nos Astran Board of Directors have yet to issue an official statement."_

\- Illium Entertainment news bulletin

* * *

 **Nos Astra, Illium. 1324 local time.**

Major Irri Camas sat in her office staring at the various monitors built into her desk detailing the current search for Merena Dantius. The displays showed a detailed map of the city and the exact locations of each of the units currently scouring Nos Astra. Irri's battalion had nearly a thousand infantry troops spread across four companies and almost one hundred Commandos in eleven teams in addition to Yayax Squad. All of those who were not currently in the hospital had been sent out in hopes of finding their target.

So far, the search had turned up nothing.

Nysha Dantius was extremely upset by this and getting impatient at the lack of progress made so far, but Irri wasn't surprised. Yayax Squad was one of her best teams, and as a Special Forces unit knew when and how to hide when trapped behind enemy lines, no matter their surroundings.

As the Major was about to call and check in with her Company Commanders once again, a green light began to flash on one of the monitors, indicating she had an incoming call. When Irri checked to see who it was the number was not provided. Though the Major instantly knew who it was, she still had to take a deep breath to prepare herself before accepting the incoming call. As soon as she did, a hologram of an asari in Eclipse armor appeared in front of her desk.

The asari was about 190 centimeters tall, had dark blue skin, light green eyes, brown facial markings along her cheekbones, and an emotionless expression on her face.

Irri greeted in an annoyed and sarcastic tone, "Lt. Muora, how nice of you to finally call in. I was honestly beginning to worry."

Lt. Jenila Muora, the commander of Yayax Squad, nodded and reported as she folded her hands behind her back, "I'm glad to hear that. I'll be sure to pass that along to the rest of the girls. Helps to keep their moral up knowing our _fearless leader_ actually cares."

Irri fought back an angry retort and instead asked in a neutral tone, "And just where are you and the rest of your team?"

Jenila shook her head, "Sorry Major; I can't tell you that."

Irri gave her an irritated look and asked, "And why exactly is that Lieutenant?"

Jenila took a deep breath and explained, "Because Major, I don't feel comfortable handing over a person me and my team have been busting our asses trying to save to someone who may well have been the person trying to kill her in the first place!"

Irri was confused by that, so Jenila explained, "I'm sure you saw the _incident_ that occurred earlier today Major? Those people attacking Merena were members of an assassin guild called The Black Hand, and they were annoying us all morning. Given that we haven't had any contact with any of them in the last couple hours I'd say we killed them all, or at least enough so that they won't bother fulfilling their contract.

"Still, that's not important. What matters is just why they would be after Merena. She's just a lower middle management employee in a company that honestly isn't _nearly_ as Evil or corrupt as most would have you believe. Nobody gains anything by having her killed. At least, nobody who would spend _millions_ of credits to have someone assassinated."

Jenila's eyes narrowed a bit as she added, "Unless of course, the motive was _personal_."

Irri was surprised at that, "Personal?"

Jenila nodded, "Yes. Now you tell me Major, who might see Merena as dangerous enough to go through all the trouble of killing? Who might actually see her as a threat?"

Irri sighed and rubbed her temples as another headache came to her, "You mean...you really think...her _sister_ _Nysha_ did this?"

Jenila nodded, "Yes, I do. Or at least _one_ of her sisters."

Irri began, "Jenila, do you have any idea how _stupid_ that sounds? Merena Works for Nysha, and you just said she didn't have any real pull in the company. Just why would Nysha want to have her killed?"

Jenila explained, "From what Merena's told us today, she's actually started to make a lot of headway in the company. She's been managing her people competently, getting projects done, and for a Dantius is surprisingly personable and apparently was very popular with her people. Someone like that might be a threat to the boss one day. Especially if they are family."

Jenila sighed and shook her head, "And it's not like the Dantius Sisters are known for their scruples. One's a notoriously corrupt diplomat on the Citadel, one's a Slaver, and another's a Warlord in the Terminus. Nysha and Merena are the only two who live their lives within the confines of the law. And even then only by _Illium_ law _,_ and sometimes not even then if my hunch is correct _."_

Irri buried her face in her hands and let out several deep breaths. This was yet another fine mess her Commandos had gotten her into. If she didn't try and get Merena back to her sister, there were any number of ways that Nysha Dantius could make her life Hell. Still, she had every reason to believe every word Jenila had said to her, and she could not fault the logic of the Commando.

Taking a calming breath Irri asked, "And just how do you recommend we solve this situation?"

Jenila answered, "Call Dantius and tell her you've got me and my team located and that her sister's safe. Get the search called off, give us a few hours to get Merena off world, and everything should sort itself out from there."

Irri shook her head, "Dantius wants her sister brought to her personally; that won't work."

Jenila sighed and responded, "Then I suppose she'll just have to accept the word of four Commandos that her sister wanted to leave the planet after it became too dangerous for her. It's the truth if nothing else."

Irri gave her a worried look and asked in a genuinely concerned voice, "Four? What happened to the other half of your squad?"

Jenila smiled a bit and answered, "So you really do care. Huh. I'm actually touched. Anyway, I'm sending half my team to watch over Merena for a little while and make sure nobody else is coming after her. They'll return once they're sure she's safe."

Irri nodded, "Alright. I'll see what I can do. Still, you do realize you're going to get into _a lot_ of trouble for this right?"

Jenila answered in a grateful voice, "No more than you would be in if it's found out you knew about all this. Thank you for understanding ma'am."

Irri nodded, "Of course. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think we both have a fair bit of work cut out for us."

With that, the hologram faded, and Irri spent the next several minutes thinking of a lie convincing enough to tell her boss explaining why she would have to wait a while before seeing her sister.

* * *

 **1511 local time.**

In a nearly deserted and dimly lit restaurant in the lower levels of the city, Private Leria Reya sat across from her lover Corporal Raria Tesaya. The tall muscular asari wore a white T shirt exposing her large arms and black pants, while the other Commando wore a simple yet form fitting pink robe showing off her exquisite figure.

The restaurant was a small bar and grill, with the couple sitting in a booth in the bar near the bar end of the establishment. There were a few vid screens spread out on the walls showing news broadcasts or a sporting event of some kind. In the absence of a crowed, the asari could hear the reports if they listened closely enough.

Leria had been having a very busy day so far. As usual, she had gotten up around 0500 to go exercise for about an hour or so. After that, she and the rest of her team had to attend a briefing at 0700 that all the Commando Squads who were on duty that day attended for assignments and potential upcoming missions (a briefing Yayax Squad was for some reason absent from).

Before that had even ended, the entire unit had been mobilized and had searched for the better part of the day looking for Nysha Dantius' sister. An employee of hers who, apparently, was with Yayax Squad all along, meaning the whole search had been a huge waste of time.

It was only about an hour ago that the search had been called off and the troops returned to base. After that the soldiers that were not scheduled to be on duty tonight debriefed and were released from work.

Though Leria and her squad were technically on duty right now and should be at least in armor if not preferably back at base, the tall violet skinned Commando was certain her team wouldn't be deployed with only four members again, as last time was mainly as a punishment due to Allyna's actions.

 _Besides, what's the worst they'd do to us if they found out? Make us stand guard in a tower all night. Yeah. Good luck with that._

And so, after getting out of their armor and taking a quick shower together, the two Commandos had headed off to get their first meal of the day. As the waitress finished taking their orders Leria looked over at her partner and saw that, as usual, Raria had a frown on her face and was staring down at the table with her hands folded in front of her.

Leria sighed, shook her head, and asked in a somewhat concerned tone, "Hey. You doing alright?"

Raria looked up, shrugged, and answered in a soft voice, "Sure. Why?"

Leria gave her a look, "Do I really need to pry it out of you?"

Raria sighed and responded, "I'm _fine_ Leria. Really. Just been a long day is all."

Leria wasn't convinced, "And the riot that happened this morning isn't on your mind?"

Raria shrugged again, "Sure it is, and I feel awful that happened, but there's nothing I can do about it now. Best just to accept it and move on right?"

Leria let the matter drop but didn't believe her. Raria was always one to feel for people in danger or who were victims in things they had no control over, even if she had no connection to them whatsoever. That compassion was one of the many things Leria loved about Raria, but it also was one of the reasons Raria was usually in a gloomy mood: there was always some crisis going on somewhere, and if Raria ever heard of it, it would be on her mind for a very long time.

 _She has too big a heart I think. Love and compassion are great things to have, but you care too much and that compassion will just drag you down._

The tall muscular asari was about to try to turn their attention to happier things when a news broadcast caught her attention. Turning around to look at a monitor, Leria listened intently to the asari newscaster.

 _"Breaking news. The Parliament of the Independent colony of Anhur just passed a resolution eliminating the minimum wage in the Amun System. The motion was widely protested against by various labor unions and Sentient Rights groups over the past week as the motion was deliberated on. A spokesperson for the Na'hesit party, who'se members control sixty one percent of the colony's Parliament, had this to say on the matter:_

[Cut to a tall Batarian male in a dark grey suit like outfit]: This measure will allow for greater economic efficiency through cost cutting and greater production output, thereby guaranteeing the economic prosperity for the entire system.

[Cut back to the asari news caster] _"The measure is to take full effect at the start of the next Galactic Standard Calendar Year. The Minority Parties in Anhur's Parliament are attempting to have the measure repealed before then, but are not expected to meet with results. In other news…"_

Leria tuned the broadcast out after that, not wanting to hear what else was wrong in the galaxy.

The tall muscular asari couldn't believe what she had heard. More than that, she was _disgusted_ that such an act would ever take place. The Asari Republics had very stringent laws protecting those who worked in labor intensive careers such as mining and manufacturing. All workers were guaranteed wages and could only be forced to work a certain number of hours, and the Republics always kept a close eye on the companies in their space to make sure they were not abusing their employees.

It did not change the dangers or health risks inherent to that type of career, but it did help the average worker a great deal. The very idea that a government would abolish what little guarantees a sentient being had in a dangerous and underappreciated career was unthinkable to Leria.

Despite being clearly able to see her lover was upset by the news, Raria couldn't help but smirk, "And _now_ who is it that needs to cheer up?"

Leria gave her an annoyed look, "Shut up."

The shorter asari just smiled and shook her head as the waitress brought them their food.

* * *

 **1718 local time.**

Major Irri Camas stood awkwardly by her desk as she observed the glowing form of Nysha Dantius scream at and threaten the four Commandos who were standing at perfect attention lined up along the wall. Irri had lost track of how long the Executive had been ranting at them over having not brought in her sister, and Nysha showed no signs of stopping.

True to the plan, half of Yayax Squad had arrived in the office and reported that Merena Dantius had decided that Illium was far too dangerous a place for her after today, and it would be best for her to leave. Lt. Muora said half her squad had been sent to make sure she would be safe and return shortly, and even provided a handwritten note from Merena herself corroborating their story, and that she would contact her sister again if she was able.

Irri had planned on chewing out the Commandos herself before dismissing the squad and apologizing the Dantius, and then of course most likely getting a thrashing of her own.

Instead what had happened was for what seemed like an eternity now Dantius had been pacing back and forth in front of the Commandos yelling at them with everything from insults to death threats to saying she was seriously considering attempting to try and have their unit's contract on the planet terminated.

To Yayax Squad's credit, they just stood there and took it like good soldiers; none of them so much as flinching when Nysha got so close she actually spit on one of them.

Irri was thinking of all the ways she could reward the Commandos for their patience when Nysha suddenly turned and pointed at the Major as she advanced on her, "And _you_! I expect these insubordinate, incompetent, worthless bitches to be properly disciplined! Is that clear Major!?"

Irri nodded and responded hastily in a low voice, "Of course ma'am! I've got a row of suicide missions lined up I'm sure will knock the insubordination out of, if not outright kill, them."

Nysha's nodded but her glare didn't relent, "See that this happens. I would hate to suffer their insulate behavior twice. And so would _you_ , Major."

The Executive walked over to where Jenila was standing and asked in a threatening tone, "And is there anything you have to say for yourself or for your team?"

Jenila answered back in a machine like voice, "Only that we did what we thought was best for your sister ma'am. She seemed very keen to get off world."

Nysha just shook her head and left without saying another word.

As soon as she left the Eclipse troops all visible relaxed. The asari Nysha had spit on wiped her face with an agitated look about her. She was a being with a muscular build, light blue skin, no facial markings, and light brown eyes named Sergeant Ariata Sedala, and was Yayax Squad's second in command behind Jenila.

Irri went to sit down at her desk and rubbed her temples and sighed as she did so. Jenila and Ariata sat down in front of the Major's desk, with the other two commandos standing behind them.

Irri gave Yayax Squad a sympathetic look as she said, "I'm really sorry about all that. I was hoping to take the brunt of it, but apparently Dantius had other ideas."

Ariata shrugged and replied in a nonchalant voice, "Happens. Had enough dipshit Commanders to learn how to deal with it. And I'm Not including you in that group of course."

Irri gave her a smirk, "Gee, thanks. Makes me feel _so_ much better about myself."

Turning to Jenila the Major asked, "So Merena Dantius will be safe where she's headed?"

Jenila nodded, "Yes. It might take a few days to get her set up somewhere, and the others will be watching her for a bit, so we're at half strength until they're sure she's not being hunted."

Irri sighed and sank a bit in her chair, "Great. Now I've got my _two_ of my best teams at just barely the strength needed to do their jobs. Still, good work saving her life and getting her off this fucked up planet."

Jenila actually showed some emotion and smiled as she replied, "It's what we're here for. Besides, any reasonable person would have done the same in our position."

The lieutenant then asked in a clinical voice, "Do you really have several suicide missions for us though?"

Irri gave her a sorry look and explained, "Yes, but none that can't wait until after the weekend. Don't worry though, for a team of your caliber, I'm sure you'll all make it through. And I'll probably only send you on one anyway. I doubt Dantius will check up on this and I don't want to burn you all out, especially with half your team gone. I'll even let you pick which one you want."

Ariata and the two other Commandos smiled while Jenila kept her expression emotionless as she asked, "And the missions are?"

Irri revealed, "I've got a Salarian whose engineering a virus capable of wiping out half the galaxy that needs to be stopped, a rogue Turian General who took a full Legion of troops into the Terminus and is committing numerous war crimes that needs assassinating, and recently we've learned the location of a few pirate outposts that I want infiltrated and searched for any and all intel pertaining to the recent rise in piracy. Personally, I'd recommend the one involving the Salarian."

Jenila asked, "And why is that?"

Irri smirked, "It's on the planet Dorumaa, in the Cularin System."

Ariata smiled and nearly shouted, "The resort planet!? The fuck is a Salarian mad scientist doing there?"

Irris shrugged, "Hiding out I'm guessing. Apparently since Salarians never take vacations they thought it would be a safe place to hide. They seem to have been right too, as we just learned about this operation in the last few hours. So, you're taking that mission then?"

Jenila nodded and Irri smiled, "Excellent. I'll give you the full briefing when we get back from our break. Meantime, if there's nothing else, have a good weekend."

The Commandos had nothing else, and left the office after that, all obviously looking forward to being deployed to (and of course staying as long as possible at) a resort world.

Irri quickly finished up what little work she still had to do, and headed out not long after that.

After making a quick stop at the store the Major arrived home carrying a case of beer under one arm and a small bag of groceries in the other. After putting everything away, Irri took a quick shower, dressed in a light green and slightly faded robe, took a cold beer from her fridge, and sat down at her extranet terminal to enjoy a movie.

As the Major took a long sip of her beer and began to relax for the first time that day, Irri couldn't help but be thankful that things had gone about as well as they possibly could have.

It was not often that the last day in a work week was so uneventful.


	8. Welcome Back

**A/N:** Hello everyone, yes I'm still alive. Can't say the same for countless unfortunate soles I encountered in my Fallout 4 playthrough though. Anyway, I'm back. And once again, I'm giving you all a chapter I mostly free wrote and have no idea how it all turned out. Hopefully it will be at least worth reading, and if not, at least after this we can _finally_ get to the more action oriented parts of the story. Here's hoping I can still competently do a major battle scene.

Anyway, I again have no clue when the next chapter will be out, but know that I have not yet abandoned this story. Please let me know what you all think!

 _Ad'ika:_ Kid, lad, boy, sweetie, darling, son, daughter, child, etc.

 _Cui ogir'olar:_ It's irrelevant.

 _Udesii: "_ Calm down" or "take it easy."

 _Osik:_ Dung. (Impolite)

* * *

 _"A Justicar must never let the ignorant opinions of others cloud their mind. She must always remain dedicated to her never ending task of purging the galaxy of Injustice and Corruption. Many do not understand our Code or it's necessity, and many more will never try to. Instead they will demonize us as monsters all the while engaging in vices that destroy not only themselves but all those around them._

 _"Do not let these fools pollute your mind with even a single thought of doubt. Such thoughts only lead to uncertainty, and that leads down the road to self destruction. For just as it only takes a single ray of Light to push back the Darkness, so too does it only take an iota of Darkness to corrupt a being of the Light."_

\- Justicar Phora explaining to her apprentice, Arla Selemi, the importance of never doubting yourself or your purpose in a galaxy that does not understand you.

* * *

 **Nos Astra, Illium. Eclipse Base. Arca Company Barracks. 1457 local time.**

Lt. Arla Selemi, dressed in one of her light brown pantsed archaic robes, exited the barracks and headed over to her cerulean colored sky car in the nearby parking lot. Her pace was quick, and her Warp Sword flew about her waist as she walked toward her vehicle.

Most of the battalion had just gotten off work, and the base was a flurry of activity. Most of the Eclipse troops were changing out of their armor as quickly as they could and heading off base to enjoy their leisure time.

The day was fairly warm, with a few scattered clouds and a slight breeze providing a small amount of relief to the inhabitants of the city.

Arla entered her sky car, set her War Sword down in a specially made container in the center of the vehicle, and took off in the direction of the space port.

It had now been two weeks since the hostage situation involving the Dantius Corporation's Board of Directors, and not only was Elzia now cleared for full duty, but Allyna was now also returning after finishing the business with her mother's passing. Meaning Null Squad now had all it's current members available to deploy.

As the Eclipse Lieutenant programmed her sky car to engage it's autopilot and join the endless rows of traffic that now filled the Nos Astran sky, she wondered just what their next mission would be. There were a dozen wars on as many worlds going on right now that the various corporations had interests on that needed protection. The pirate attacks in the Traverse were continuing to escalate, causing no end of grief for everyone. And of course there was always a possibility they would be deployed on some random suicide mission that had nothing to do with any of those things.

Arla was partially glad she and her team would most likely be sent out again soon, as she was never one for just sitting around while things needed doing. Still, she was also anxious for her squad to be deployed again.

Elzia may have fully recovered by now, but Arla was still concerned about sending her into battle so soon. What's more, though Allyna had by now been given time to mourn her loss, Arla wasn't sure she would deploy the Captain if there was any other option if it was up to her. Arla couldn't say what Allyna was feeling at the moment, but if she were in her friend's position, she knew she probably wouldn't be able to function properly for...a very long time.

After a few minutes Arla took her car out of the lanes of traffic, and arrived at the spaceport.

The Nos Astran spaceport was a massive structure over nine hundred meters tall and nearly five kilometers wide. It was a large block structure, almost resembling a wall. On one side those departing or picking someone up would land on a platform built horizontally jetting out from the building. They were a few hundred meters long, and could accommodate hundreds of people and vehicles. Dozens of such platforms stretched out from the spaceport. One the other side of the building shuttles from all across the galaxy would dock on a level and unload passengers and cargo.

Arla landed her sky car in the closest available spot to the entrance, which was about twenty meters away from the door. Dozens of cars and what must have been a couple hundred beings, most of them asari, stood on the walkway awaiting whomever it was they were picking up.

Arla retrieved her Warp Sword, exited her sky car, and made her way to the front of the crowed. To her dismay, any who saw Arla's Warp Sword gave her several meters of space and a look of absolute terror as she walked by.

Arla hated getting those looks everywhere she went. Hated being judged as a ruthless killer just by how she dressed and what she wore on her belt. She had tried in the past several times to assure those around her she wasn't a Justicar. That she wouldn't decide they all deserved to die for little to no reason and murder them all.

No one ever believed her. None ever heard her story out. They all just kept their distance and stared at her in a mix of awe and fear.

Arla had considered a change of dress. A change of appearance. Of no longer dressing as a Justicar in the early days of asari history did or carrying her Warp Sword around with her. But in the end, Arla found she simply could not.

The robes she wore were far more comfortable than any form of clothing she had tried, and as for her Warp Sword...that was a part of her now. She had gone through too much training with it, used it too much, and developed too many memories with it and the person who trained her to use it to even leave her room without it, let alone stop wearing it all together.

Shaking her head at the sad truth that others would always judge her before they even knew her, Arla worked her way to the front of the crowd in front of the door Allyna said she would exit from, and waited for her friend.

After a few minutes, the pale blue asari saw Allyna exit the building with a suitcase in her left hand. The tall lavender asari was dressed in a pair of black pants, a black unzipped jacket and a white undershirt. As Allyna went off to the side, set her suitcase down, and began to scan the crowd for her, Arla sighed and prepared herself for what she was about to do.

Unclipping her Warp Sword from her belt, Arla held it directly overhead and ignited it.

 _Shuuuuuum_.

As the beings around her noticed Arla's dark purple colored blade, they immediately scattered. Most of them running away screaming in terror. Many took cover behind their sky cars, while a few flew away from the building altogether, whether they had the person they were here to collect or not.

Arla did her best to maintain a straight face through it all, but it still hurt that she could cause so much panic simply by igniting a piece of technology that, technically, _any_ asari had the legal right to own.

Still, it did it's job. As soon as Arla ignited her Warp Sword Allyna zeroed in on her and headed over to her friend.

As the two came face to face Allyna set her luggage down and the pair embraced in a tight hug. After a few seconds the two pulled away, and Allyna waved Arla off as she tried to take her friend's suitcase. The two Commandos then went over to where Arla had parked and were soon on their way back to base.

After setting the vehicle to auto pilot Arla looked over at Allyna. The Captain had a tired, yet also emotionless expression on her face. As if nothing had happened and everything was fine.

Arla took a deep breath and began in as comforting a voice as she could manage, "Ally, I...Look, um...I know I'm not exactly the greatest at the emotional comforting stuff. And given that both my parents are still alive I know I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through. But...you know I'm here for you. Right?"

Allyna looked over and gave Arla a smile, "I know, and I really appreciate that. But I'm fine. _Really_. I know it probably makes me a horrible, Evil person, but I've already accepted losing her. Don't think I was ever really that shook up to be honest."

Arla nodded but still gave Allyna a concerned look, "Alright, but...well...you know."

Allyna sighed and looked out the window at the city below, "Not everyone comes from a loving, warm, happy family like you Arla."

Arla nodded and responded in a low voice, "Yeah. I know."

After a few seconds Arla asked, "Anyway, you feel like doing anything now that you're back?"

Allyna smiled and suggested, "Actually, if you don't mind going out tonight and we won't be on duty tomorrow, I've been wanting to thank that Matriarch that saved Elzia's life. She said there was some bar near the trading floor we could stop in and buy a few drinks to thank her. You think a few of the others would be up for that?"

Arla tensed slightly and responded in a bashful voice, "Ah, right. _That_ establishment. Um...about that…"

Allyna let out a long sigh and asked in an exhausted tone as she sat back in her seat, "And just what the fuck did you do this time?"

Arla took a deep breath before explaining, "Before I start, I just want you to know everyone involved _survived_. Anyway, me and Cyessa…"

* * *

An hour and a half later Arla sat in the passenger seat of Allyna's car staring out at the city. The sun had already begun to set, and the skyscrapers were glowing in the late day sun and casting long shadows across the ground.

Arla had been admiring the view until Allyna called over to her, "Arla. Arla!"

The tall pale blue asari turned and asked, "Yeah?"

Allyna smiled but told her, "You're actually affecting the inner workings of the car with your shaking. Do you think you could maybe relax a bit until we land?"

Arla looked down at her legs and found they were both bouncing up and down at a rapid pace. Stopping her legs, the Lieutenant smiled awkwardly back and apologized.

Allyna commented, "You're usually not this jumpy. You really that scared about going back to this place?"

Arla took a few moments to collect her thoughts. After she and Allyna had gotten back to base and the others had welcomed the Captain back it hadn't taken long for them all to agree to head to Eternity Bar and try, again, to thank this Matriarch Aethyta for saving Elzia's life. The Infiltrator had been keen on the idea, and Cyessa especially had been wanting to go. Raria and Leria were interested in meeting her as well.

Arla however was honestly terrified of going back there. She saw the looks the patrons and dancers had given her. She didn't like the thought of going back and experiencing them again.

Arla sighed and said, "Yeah, I am."

Allyna gave her a sympathetic look, "I'm sure it will be fine. Besides, even if they give you a few strange or fearful looks, just think of this as your chance to show them you're not a cold blooded killing machine."

The Captain added a couple seconds later after she thought about the statement, "Well...at least not in the nature they're thinking of."

Arla huffed as she looked back out the window, "Thanks for that. Really helped my self esteem issues."

Allyna sighed and went on, "Hey, you know what I mean. Sure, you're an incredibly deadly combatant, but that's not all you are. You just need to learn to show people that is all."

Arla asked, "And just how am I supposed to do that?"

Allyna sighed again and shrugged as they neared the parking garage closest to the bar, "You'll have to figure that one out for yourself I'm afraid. We all have our issues we need to overcome, and sadly sometimes we just have to do them alone."

As soon as the squad had all parked, they headed out towards Eternity Bar. Arla and Allyna were still in the outfits they wore earlier. Cyessa wore a dark blue suit of armor, while Elzia was dressed in a pair of black pants and a medium red shirt. Leria was dressed in a pair of light blue pants and yellow shirt while Raria was in a form fitting black robe.

The way to Eternity was fairly deserted, with most of the shops being devoid of customers and very few brokers still working at this time of day.

As the squad proceeded to their destination, Arla thought about just how she would try and change the perception she was sure the occupants of Eternity had of her. The tall pale blue asari had not managed to come up with anything by the time Null Squad reached Eternity, and as the rest of her team entered the bar, Arla just sighed and hoped that nothing crazy or violent would be happening this evening.

Arla honestly wasn't sure she could handle it.

* * *

As it turned out, Arla didn't need to worry about causing too big a scene tonight. The only patrons in the bar were two Salarians who were off in a back corner and a Turian who had passed out and whose head was placed over the side of the table with a bucket placed underneath to collect anything his body couldn't handle.

Matriarch Aethyta, who was dressed in a dark blue robe, was wiping the counter of the bar with a bored look on her face. There were three dancers still working their tables, though all were more or less just pacing around as they had no customers at present.

One of them was a being of slender build, light purple skin, and black facial markings framing her face. Another was perhaps the most beautiful asari Arla had ever seen, having a perfect figure, no facial markings, and royal blue skin. The last dancer was the generously curved being who had been entertaining the group of drunk and violent mercenaries the last time Arla had been here.

The well developed dancer had zeroed in on Arla the moment she entered the bar, and had stopped dead at her table. The other two had noticed the Nulls enter as well, and though they had managed to keep moving, they both had their eyes on their new patrons.

Taking a calming breath, Arla ignored their gaze as best she could and followed her team over to the bar.

By the time Arla arrived at the counter the rest of the squad had introduced themselves to Aethyta and had ordered their drinks and spread about the bar. Raria and Leria had gone over to a booth near a window overlooking the city. Cyessa and Elzia had gone to the table that gorgeous dancer was occupying, and whom had already begun to put on a show. Allyna had taken a seat in front of the Matriarch and had ordered a pink colored liquor.

Arla walked up to the counter, looked Aethyta in the eye, and said in a neutral tone, "Matriarch."

Aethyta gave her a cautious look but still nodded and replied in a friendly tone, "Evening. Arla right?" Arla nodded and Aethyta asked, "Well then Arla, you just gonna stand there all night or are you gonna order a drink?"

Pleasantly surprised that the Matriarch was still holding nothing against her for what had happened, Arla smiled and asked in a respectful and cautious one, "Actually Matr-"

Aethyta gave her an annoyed look and said, "I thought I told you people before: Don't use that formal _osik_ around me! It just pisses me off. Just call me Aethyta if you have to call me anything."

Arla actually smiled at that and corrected herself as she gestured to the dancer she recognised from before, "Well then, _Aethyta_ , I have a request that I know may seem...unusual, I know...but if you wouldn't mind, could I have a few minutes alone with that dancer over there?"

Aethyta looked over at the asari in question, who was still staring at Arla even as she moved back and forth across her table, and said as she looked back at and returned the tall pale blue asari's gaze, "Nothing unusual in asking for a private dance _ad'ika_ , but I gotta warn you she's probably not going to agree to it and I'm not going to force her. I don't think she'll like the idea of being alone with you. You kinda scared her with your swordplay the last time you were here."

Arla grew noticeably uncomfortable at the words but still managed to meet Aethyta's eyes as she explained, "I'm not asking for a private dance Aethyta, merely a few words with her. As you said, I...may have used too much force dealing with those drunken morons, and I realize I may have given her, and all others present at the time, the wrong impression. I wish to make amends."

Aethyta gave her a fierce look and asked, "That's it? Just a few words?" Arla nodded and Aethyta went on, "And if she says no?"

Arla sighed and said in a soft voice as she looked at the floor, "Then I'll accept that. Couldn't really blame her if that's what she choses."

Aethyta gave Arla a long and cold stare before saying, "Fine. But like I said, she doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to."

The Matriarch then went over to where the dancer's table was. Arla of course couldn't hear a conversation happening so far away, but from the look on the dancer's face, it didn't seem she would get her wish.

Still, after several minutes, the dancer looked over at Arla, stared at her for several seconds, looked back at Aethyta, and nodded. Climbing down from her table, the dancer walked over to the bar. Aethyta walked right along side the voluptuous dancer, with one arm over her shoulders, as if she were supporting an upset or scared child.

Eventually, when they were within speaking distance, Aethyta said, "Well, you got your wish here _ad'ika_. Start talking."

Arla took a deep breath, looked the dancer in the eye, and began, "Hello. The um...the last time I was here I acted in a way that obviously made all those present very uncomfortable. Afraid even. Yourself especially given how you've been looking at me since I walked in here."

The dancer grew noticeably uncomfortable at that and looked down at her feet. Aethyta gave Arla a look while rubbing the dancer's back.

Arla went on in a louder yet more understanding tone, "And I can not blame you or any others for forming opinions on me based off one violent encounter. I admit things may not have gone as well as they could have, but I was left with no choice but to act the way I did. Those people were not going to stop and things were about to get... _violent_ ...with or without me.

"So while I can understand, given my actions, style of dress, and weapon of choice, that you and many others may be afraid of me, I would ask that you not be. I'm not a Justicar. I'm not a murderer. I'm a _person_ just like you. And I have no intentions of harming anyone without very good reason."

Arla gave the dancer, who had by now been able to summon the courage to look Arla in the eye, a heartfelt look and said in a soft voice as extended her hand, "And if you would be so kind as to accept my apology for upsetting you, perhaps we all might start over?"

The dancer gave Arla a look that was a mix of fear and awe.

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, the dancer slowly reached out and shook Arla's hand and said in a soft voice, "Apology accepted. I'm sorry if it missed me, but I don't think I got your name."

Arla smiled, "Lt. Arla Selemi. Eclipse mercenary."

The dancer smiled back and introduced herself, "Lea Moraci. Eternity exotic dancer."

Arla let out a sigh of relief and asked as she took a more relaxed stance, "Well Lea, is there anything I could maybe do to make up causing you any discomfort? Pay you whatever it is you charge for a dance? Buy you a drink for when you get off work? Something?"

Lea looked unsure of what to do for a few moments before eventually asking Aethyta if she could have a drink now.

Aethyta looked around the bar and sighed as she answered, "Ah sure. Not like we're going to get many more people tonight and I was probably gonna let one or two of you girls go home anyway."

The Matriarch asked as she went back behind the counter, "Let me guess _ad'ika_ : Nuka-Cola?"

Lea nodded and Aethyta shook her head and commented as she made the drink, "How you manage to drink this radioactive human piss is beyond me." She finished the drink and gave it to the dancer, "Anyway, here you go. You're gonna head home after you're done with that I take it?"

Lea looked back at Arla for a minute before answering awkwardly, "Actually I...I was hoping to have a few words with Arla if she didn't mind."

All asari present gave Lea an odd look.

Aethyta especially seemed concerned about this as she asked, "Really _ad'ika_? Why?"

Lea smirked as she looked Arla up and down, "I'm curious about her." Lea looked back at Aethyta and asked in a quieter and more timid voice, "That...that won't be a problem will it?"

Aethyta looked Arla over again before shrugging, "You want to talk to her, by all means. Just...stay where I can see you two, alright?"

Lea nodded and turned to Arla and asked, "So, feel like talking for a bit?"

Arla was surprised by this, but none the less agreed, paid for Lea's drink, and followed the voluptuous dancer to a booth not too far away from where Leria and Raria were sitting down. After a few seconds Arla asked, "So...exactly what did you want to talk about?"

Lea asked in a somewhat excited voice, "Well... _you_ actually. I've never met anyone who actually knew how to use a Warp Sword or dressed like a Justicar. Just where did you get that robe or that blade. Where did you learn to use it? And just how and why did you end up here on Illium?"

Arla smiled at the beautiful dancer's complete change in attitude from a few minutes earlier. It was nice to see someone interested in her past and not afraid of her for once.

Taking a deep breath Arla began, "Well, best to start at the beginning I guess. And please, don't panic when you hear about this, but I actually _did_ try and join the Justicars."

Lea was not frightened at the news as Arla feared she might be. Instead, she seemed even more intrigued and asked as she leaned forward on the table, "Really?"

Arla actually managed to smile thinking back to her early days back home, "Really. I submitted an application to join the Order when I was about fifty four, and a few months later one actually came to my home to meet me…"

* * *

Aethyta watched Lea walk away with the mercenary and stared at them for several seconds after they sat down. After she was sure Lea was alright and that nothing was going to happen, the Matriarch turned her attention back to Allyna, who had also watched her companion and the dancer as they went to sit down.

Turning to face Aethyta the Eclipse Captain asked, "Was what happened here really that bad? From what I heard, it wasn't all that violent all things considered."

Aethyta shrugged, "Well, for someone who's used to dealing with war, death, and destruction on a daily basis sure. But not for someone who isn't used to seeing people getting their limbs hacked off. Besides, Lea…"

Aethyta trailed off, unsure of exactly how much she should say about her employee. Eventually the Matriarch finished, "Let's just say Lea's been through some things that make her very sensitive to violence and leave it at that."

Allyna nodded and the two stared at each other in awkward silence for quite some time. Eventually Aethyta asked, "So um, just out of curiosity, why didn't you show up with your friends when they stopped by last time?"

Allyna shrugged and reported in a neutral voice, "My mom just died and I was back home taking care of everything. Just got back today."

Aethyta was surprised and a bit embarrassed by that and was about to say something when Allyna raised her hand and offered a gentle smile, "And before you go off apologising and offering your sympathies, I can assure you I'm fine. My mom and me…"

Allyna looked down at her drink before sighing, "We weren't very close."

Allyna took her shot and asked for another.

Aethyta refilled her glass and responded, "I get ya. Anyway, any other exciting adventures you've been on lately?"

Allyna shrugged, "Not really. Though between the pirate raids, the various wars gripping the Terminus, and the spiraling crime rate here, I doubt it will be long before my team and I are deployed again." The Captain sighed as she ended, "Never seen the galaxy this chaotic."

Aethyta gave a shrug and said in an indifferent voice, "You'll find wars come and go in waves. Truth be told, despite how bad things are right now, I would say things have been pretty peaceful the last few centuries all things considered."

Allyna looked at her with a shocked expression and responded, "Peaceful? You call the last few centuries _peaceful_? You have any idea how many wars have been fought in the last three hundred years? Or how many people _died_ in them?"

Aethyta held up her hands and explained, " _Udesii ad'ika._ I know from your perspective things must seem chaotic as ever as you've probably been in most of those wars. But really? All this is _nothing_ compared to what was going on when _I_ was a Maiden _."_

Allyna gave her a disbelieving yet curious look, "Really?"

Aethyta nodded, "Really. You wouldn't _believe_ some of the stories I have to tell."

Before Allyna could respond Alaya, Cyessa, and Elzia came up to the bar. Alaya pointed to Elzia and said, "This one wanted a private dance. I assume that's alright with you?"

Aethyta looked Elzia over and warned as she pointed to the Commando, "Fine. But you just make sure not to try anything unless you're specifically told you can. Got it?"

Elzia answered in a cheery tone, "I wouldn't dream of it." The Commando looked Alaya over for a few seconds before adding, "Well...alright, I might _dream_ of it, but I still won't."

The Matriarch nodded and then looked over at Alaya, "And as for you-"

The dancer seemed offended and asked in a shocked voice, "Me?"

Aethyta nodded, "Yeah, you. Go easy on this one _ad'ika_ ; I _just_ put her back together."

Alaya smirked and responded, "No promises."

Aethyta couldn't help but chuckle at that, and the dancer and soldier went into one of the back rooms. Cyessa by now had sat down on Allyna's right and had finished her drink.

As Aethyta poured the sniper a new one the short teal asari asked, "So, if you wouldn't mind Aethyta, could we talk for a few minutes?"

Aethyta smiled and nodded, "That's what I'm here for _ad'ika_. What's on your mind?"

Cyessa began after taking a sip of her drink, "If I could ask, just what is a Krogan Asari as old as you doing on Illium? Shouldn't you be with your family or helping to lead your Clan?"

Aethyta sighed, shook her head, and looked down at the floor as she responded, "That's a long and sad story _ad'ika_. One filled more heartache, drama, and pain then I care to admit."

After taking a breath Aethyta explained, "My kids are all grown adults with lives of their own and don't need me making their lives more difficult than they need to be. Don't get me wrong, I visit them when I can and stay in touch with them."

Aethyta looked away as her heart filled with pain over the thought of the child she never even got a chance to meet and added, "Well, _most_ of them anyway. But they're all fine where they are now. No need for me to ruin what they've built for themselves.

"As for my Clan, I haven't been to Tuchanka in over five hundred years. My Clan is doing fine without me as far as I know. As fine as they could be doing on a radioactive war torn wasteland at least. Sure, I could try to go there and make things better, but I doubt anyone there would listen to my _wise council_. Not after how badly things went for me on the Homeworld."

Cyessa gave the Matriarch a sad look and asked, "Why? What happened?"

Aethyta shook her head and explained, "I don't want to talk about it _ad'ika_. Suffice it to say the other Matriarchs didn't like my ideas very much. Doubt the Krogan would be any different. So here I am, serving drinks and giving advice to those who ask for it and helping out those who I think deserve it as best I can."

Cyessa gave Aethyta an understanding look and nodded, "I see. I'm sorry to hear about all that."

Aethyta shrugged and said, "Ah, _cui ogir'olar_. Life's mostly what you make out of the situations you find yourself in. And overall, despite all that I've been through, I'd say I've still had it pretty good. What about you? Doing the usual bit of destroying everything in your path and winning Glory I take it?"

Cyessa smiled and responded, "More or less. Although to be honest I-"

Cyessa suddenly stopped talking and began to rub her temples as a pained expression crossed her face, as if she were experiencing a sudden and massive headache. After a few moments the short teal asari sighed and muttered, " _Fierfek_. Figures. Just when I'm finally starting to relax."

Aethyta gave the sniper a curious look while Allyna asked in a casual tone as if this were an everyday occurrence, "What is it?"

Cyessa just stared at her omni-tool and counted down, "In 5...4...3...2...1."

As Cyessa finished all the omni tools of the Commandos began to glow and beep. The Commandos answered their devices, and a pre-recorded message began to play ordering all the Eclipse troops to return to base immediately and report to their superiors.

As Allyna and Cyessa closed their omni-tools the rest of the squad quickly dashed up to the counter from their seats, or in Elzia's case the backroom she had been in, and paid their tabs before leaving.

As the rest of her team exited the establishment, Allyna stayed behind and stood in front of Aethyta. The Captain had a serious look on her face as she said in a cool yet appreciative voice, "Seems like my people and I can never catch a break. Still, I just wanted to say thank you for helping me and mine out. I want you to know I'm not gonna forget that. You ever need anything, you just say the word and I'll do whatever I can to help you."

Aethyta smiled, "No problem _ad'ika_. You be sure to take care of yourselves out there."

Allyna smiled, nodded, and headed for the exit.

A few moments later both Lea and Alaya walked up to the counter, Alaya straightening out her uniform and Lea carrying her now empty glass. Aethyta took the glass from the voluptuous dancer and asked, "So, how did your little talk go with the Warp Sword carrying killing machine?"

Lea smiled and answered, "Fine. She actually seems like a really nice person. Wish she could have stayed longer though; she was just getting to the interesting parts."

Aethyta smirked and cleaned the glass, "I'm sure you'll get another chance to see her _ad'ika_. Something tells me she'll be back."

Lea asked, "You think so?"

Aethyta answered, "A person as attractive as you actually _wanting_ to talk to someone who clearly has a lot of personal issues? Yeah, I think she'll want to see you again."

Lea smiled at the compliment and Aethyta looked over at Alaya and asked, "As for you, I trust yours didn't try anything? I'd hate to have to rip her apart after I just patched her back up."

Alaya smirked and shook her head, "Didn't lift a finger. There may or may not have been some casual small talk and a bit of flirting, but that's all."

Aethyta nodded, "Good. Anyway, you two can take off if you want. No point in wasting a perfectly good night here when you could be out having fun."

Both the dancers smiled and thanked their boss before heading back to the locker room to change and head home. As the two young dancers walked away the Matriarch looked out at her nearly empty bar and sighed. In a way, Aethyta envied the Commandos.

Even if they were about to be deployed to a war torn wasteland on a planet most people had never heard of, at least they wouldn't have to deal with the agony of the mind numbing boredom Aethyta was cursed to endure tonight.


	9. Mobilization

**A/N** : Another very late yet paradoxically very rushed chapter. Again, I'm sorry about how long it takes to get these out. Also, I didn't really mention this before (and I'm sorry about that as well) but this story is set in the same continuity as all of my other works, meaning the setting is Very AU. This won't be apparent until much later in the story (assuming of course I even get that far), but it is something worth mentioning.

I've also posted a list of characters on my profile page for this story, as I know it's probably hard to keep track of them all for you, and we Still are not done introducing people yet.

The events and system introduced here are of my own creation. Don't bother trying to find them in the game's Codex or wiki, as they won't be there. As always, questions are welcome, and reviews encouraged!

 **Definitions:**

 _Buir_ : Mother/Father. Literally: "Parent."

 _Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum_ : I love you.

 _Ret'urcye mhi_ : Goodbye. Literally: "Maybe we'll meet again."

 _Vode_ : Brothers/Sisters, comrades.

* * *

 _"The Attican Traverse occupies a unique place in Galactic Politics. Though technically part of Citadel Controlled Space, it would best be described as a 'buffer zone.' It does not receive any military support from the Citadel Council or any civilization in Council Space unless their own security is directly threatened. This in turn means that pirates and Warlords from the Terminus Systems regularly invade the region._

 _"This is unlikely to stop in the near future, as the Council Races are usually secure in their own domain, the raiding and instability in the region has not stopped the Council Races from collecting taxes and shipments of raw goods from their colonies in the Traverse, and the Council Races fear any military intervention in the region would somehow unite the various Warlords in the Terminus Systems and spark a galactic war._

 _"All this despite countless civilian losses in the region over the millennia, constant requests for help by the colonists in the Traverse, and there being no good reason to believe any Warlords from the Terminus would fight to control territory the Council Races already officially and (more or less) effectively govern."_

\- An excerpt from the Galactic Institute of Anthropology's " _A Newcomer's Guide to the Galaxy_." A guide book updated and republished every time a new species joins the Galactic Community.

* * *

 **Nos Astra, Illium. 1710 local time.**

Major Irri Camas sat at her desk completing a few final bits of work before heading home. Overall, it had been a fairly good day for Irri. There had been no major outbreaks of violence, all her injured troops had been cleared for full duty, and all her Commando teams were now back from whatever deployments they were on and at full strength once again.

The Major still had several missions that she was planning on sending the Commando squads out on, but none that had to be handled immediately. She prefered to give her people time to rest when she could, and there were no missions lined up of truly galactic significance.

Just as Irri was about to log out her terminals began to flash and an alarm rang out from the speakers indicating an emergency meeting was being called in the briefing room she and the other military and police leaders met with the Illium Board of Directors in each morning.

Quickly rising from her seat, the Major rushed down the hall, entered the room, and sat down at her desk just as the rest of the room filled with holograms. All twelve of the desks the major police and mercenary leaders were occupied, as were eleven of the thirteen major CEO's seats. All the CEOs present were asari, and they all had frightened looks on their faces.

Nysha Dantius, who was dressed in an elegant maroon robe, began in a shaky voice as a hologram of an unremarkable garden world came into being in the center of the room, "I...I am afraid we do not have much time, so we will need to make this as brief as possible. This is Hercynia, a colony in the Bithynia system. Ninety minutes ago, a fleet of several dozen pirate ships carrying an army of several _thousand_ pirates invaded the planet's capital Serdica, occupied its space port after abducting or killing hundreds of asari, and as of this moment are engaging in combat operations against the militia and police forces of the Republic."

Irri immediately froze in horror, as did all other officers present. They all knew of the planet, and just what was likely going to be taking place.

Fifteen years ago, on the exact same planet and Republic, an asari pirate Warlord named Penrala Avesi had launched a _massive_ invasion of the system, occupying several Republics and killing or capturing several thousand asari. What was worse, Avesi hasn't stopped there.

Amazed at the speed and ease of her conquest, Penrala had launched several assaults into Outer Council Space, the area of the galaxy that the Asari Republics mainly resided in. Given that the Bithynia system in just on the border of Council Space, the fact that the asari Navy (though numerically large, technologically advanced and well maintained) has no real central leadership, and that the asari have no overarching government that could quickly react to such an act of aggression, the invasion had gone completely unopposed.

For several weeks Avesi's forces terrorized the asari colonies near the border of the Attican Traverse, only stopping when they had no more room on their ships for more captives.

In all, over _thirty thousand_ asari has been killed or abducted and sold into slavery in the Terminus Systems. The asari _people_ cried out for retaliation, but the asari _government_ , (if you could call a collection of thousands of Matriarchs assembled from various Republics gathered in a large amphitheater on Thessia endlessly arguing over what was to be done about the situation a government) had never responded directly to the incident.

Instead, the Matriarchs simply formed a very loosely organized military hierarchy they simply called High Command. High Command was an organization that comprised of the most senior and experienced (for asari at least) Naval Officers and Commandos who had absolute authority over all asari military units to try and organize the defense of the asari people in times of need.

So far the usefulness of the organization remained to be seen, as there had not yet been a threat significant enough for them to utilize their power.

Until now that is.

Irri listened intently as Dantius went on, "I trust by your reactions you all know just what is at stake here, and why you have been called in. High Command has ordered all militia forces throughout the Republics to be mobilized, with specialized units from Armali, Serrice, and Vulsci being ready to deploy anywhere in the galaxy within 60 standard hours. All Republics within the Traverse or Terminus systems who can send troops to the system, or any asari mercenary groups in the region who could assist, are also commanded to do so."

Dantius' voice hardened as she continued, "Illium is answering the call." Nysha's gaze turned to steel as she looked at Irri and said, "Major Camas."

Irri sat up a bit straighter in her seat and replied, "Yes ma'am?"

Dantius explained, "Your battalion has the honor of being sent to defend our people. We were unable to organize transportation from your firm on such short notice, however we were able to commandeer three Star Tours vessels that should be able to transport your troops and deploy them with little difficulty. They are currently being loaded with enough supplies to last for at least a month's long deployment, if not longer. Re supplies will be available through high Command should the need arise."

Irri was shocked at the announcement that she and her people would have to be transported in luxury cruise liners to a war zone, and not in a good way. Troop transports needed to be escorted by combat capable ships such as Frigates and Destroyers, otherwise a single squadron of fighters could tear them to pieces in a matter of minutes. And that was for military craft who had a decent amount of armor, shields, and turrets that could provide some minimal amount of protection.

Luxury cruise liners had no such armaments. What was worse, if they were being deployed in military craft then they would be able to bring their gunships with them and have at least some air support if no other air power was available. The only ships that a cruise liner could hold were small shuttles that could carry a few dozen people at a time.

This also meant that actually getting their people into the fight would be a significant problem, as small groups of soldiers would have to fight with little to no support while the full force of the battalion was brought to bear. There may be other units deploying alongside the Eclipse forces that could support them, but Irri feared the worst for her soldiers if they were sent alone against a dug in enemy who knew they were coming.

Taking a deep breath Irri asked, "Ma'am, if I may, could we perhaps wait a few days until better transportation becomes available? It seems to me that-"

Nysha cut her off in a voice that was as cold as ice and inflexible as iron, "No Major, you may _not_! We simply do not have the time to wait. High Command has ordered all troops able to meet them to be at a designated rendezvous point in no less than three galactic standard days. We simply do not have time to wait."

Irri, at great risk to herself she knew but she had to try, went on, "But ma'am, Illium is to the North on the Galactic Plane in comparison to Hercynia. Council Space, and therefore the majority of the forces being mobilized, is to the South. If the forces mobilized are not meeting for three days then that's more than enough time to-"

Nysha shouted, " _Enough_! I've had just about enough of you and your insubordination Major. Either you will follow your orders or I will replace you with someone who can. Do I make myself clear?"

Irri shrunk in her seat slightly and Nysha explained as she glared at the Major, "Good. Don't bother giving me any more of your suggestions Major. I don't want to hear them, and they would do no good in this situation in any case. High Command has already ordered all forces being mobilized to rendezvous in Council Space regardless of where they are originating from.

"I'm not going to pretend to understand why High Command is ordering this, and honestly I really don't care. All I know is I have orders to follow, just as you do. I trust you can understand that Major?"

Irri gave a nod, the Major doing her best to hide her discomfort.

Nysha went on, "Excellent. Now then, we expect you and your battalion to be ready to deploy no later than 0600 tomorrow morning."

Irri hid her shock rather well at the order, but still could not help herself from freezing momentarily and having her eyes in horror.

Nysha noticed this and asked in a tone that didn't even bother to hide how agitated she was at Irri already, "Is there a problem Major?"

Irri took a few deep breaths before responding in as respectful a voice as she could, "No ma'am, it's just...that deadline may be a bit difficult to reach."

Nysha had a dangerous edge to her voice as she asked, "And just why is that?"

Irri explained in as reasonable a voice as she could, "Ma'am, most of my troops are off duty and therefor off base right now. Recalling and mustering them all could take _hours_. What's more, as we're going to be using commercial craft, we're going to have to load them up with munitions we have stored here on base. That in itself could take a full day's worth of work, after which my troops-"

Nysha held up a hand and interrupted her, "Major, all we require is that you mobilize all the troops you can and move them to the cruise liners currently docked at the spaceport. They are all already being loaded with weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, and any other necessities your people will require for a prolonged deployment. Or did you forget that Illium is a major manufacturer in arms and armaments?"

Irri let out a sigh of relief at having at least some of the problems she thought she was going to face taken care of for her. There were of course still numerous problems with such a flimsy and hastily put together plan, but Irri knew bringing them up here would do her no good.

The Major only nodded and replied, 'I did ma'am. Apologies for my forgetfulness. In any case, is there anything else I need to know?"

Dantius shook her head, "No Major. You may leave now and see to it your troops are ready to leave tomorrow morning. Details as to exactly where you are to meet the other forces assembling to push back the invaders will be sent to you once you are underway. Good luck Major. Do not let us down."

Irri nodded, and quickly headed over to her office and sent out a battalion wide alert ordering all forces back to base. As she sent out the alert though Irri couldn't help but feel a sense of dread flow through her.

The Major knew that for many this was going to be a one way trip. And as she headed out of her office and down the stairs and eventually into the offices in the lower parts of the building, Irri sent a prayer to the Goddess that she wouldn't have to send too many letters home detailing just how and why someone's child died on some random planet thousands of lightyears away.

* * *

 **Arca Company Barracks. 1801 local time.**

Captain Allyna T'Nira set her sky car down in the parking lot of the barracks, exited her craft, and took a good look around her and saw what she could only describe as organised chaos.

All about the base soldiers were running to and fro. Some had their armor on and weapons in hand and were forming up by Company in a vacant landing pad near the center of the base called a Grinder, others still were wearing civilian clothes and either running around trying to find a superior to direct them or were just returning from the city like Null Squad.

Some of those returning from the city were clearly agitated, and others still were drunk. Allyna saw one soldier, a dark blue skinned being who couldn't be more than eighty, emerge from the passenger seat of a vehicle and vomit all over the ground. Her squadmates helped her up off the ground and headed into the barracks to get her cleaned up.

Allyna sighed and shook her head at it all. Still, this was exactly the sort of thing that happened in a situation like this.

Heading over to their barracks, Null Squad saw a group of a dozen Commandos emerge from the building fully outfitted for combat.

With her team behind her, Allyna went up to their leader and asked, "Elara, just what the fuck is going on here?"

Captain Elara T'Mukan, the commander of Omega Squad and a being of slender build, light blue skin, green eyes, and about Allyna's height with light brown facial marking consisting of brown dots across her cheeks, nose, and brow shrugged as she gestured for the rest of her team to go on without her, "No idea. Just got orders to get fully outfitted and assemble on the Grinder with a full pack and await further instructions, so apparently we're going to war. Don't know with who. Don't know where. Don't know why."

Allyna let out a long sigh, "Great. Well, thanks for the heads up. This day just gets better and better."

Elara nodded, but just as she was about to go she looked Allyna in the eye and said in a soft voice, "And Ally? It's good to have you back."

Allyna smiled, "Thanks for not saying how sorry you are. See you in a bit."

Elara smiled and headed off to join her team.

Allyna turned to face hers and ordered, "Well, you heard her. Get your shit together and get back out here on the double. And don't forget to lock up all your valuables before you leave. Chances are we'll be out there a while."

The rest of the squad nodded, and they all headed inside.

* * *

A few minutes later Allyna entered her room, tossed off her clothes, headed over to her dresser, and began to prepare for what she was sure would be a long deployment. She quickly dressed in a standard Eclipse suit of armor, did a quick check of her Tech Armor and pistol, and finally pulled out a large duffle bag. Stuffing as many spare sets of clothes, toiletries, and spare armor pieces as she could in it, Allyna was soon finished with the basics and moved on to her more specialized gear.

Pulling out a yellow and black assault pack, the Captain loaded it with several containers of medi-gel, bandages, antiseptics, pills for various allergies and ailments, spare omni tools, ration packs, powder that when mixed with water made an electrolyte rich energy drink, and any other essentials Allyna may need. When that was done, she pulled out a tactical belt that had several pouches for storing ammo clips all along the sides and a large canteen attached to the back that could hold about a liter and a half of liquid.

After filling her canteen up, the Captain clipped on her belt, put on her assault pack, and was about to get her duffle bag when a thought dawned on her: if she were to die in whatever conflict had just started, then there would be no one to mourn her. No on to claim her body. No one to miss her back home.

No one at least except for those in her team.

Though Allyna had known that for some time now on an objective level, it had not really hit her until this exact moment. The tall lavender asari thought that should at least bother, if not outright scare her, but Allyna found that she was oddly at peace with that fact. In a way, this had always been the case.

Though Allyna was sure her mother would have been heartbroken to hear she had been killed, Allyna also knew that her mother would also have been able to eventually move past that fact. That she would be able to accept it far sooner than most other beings would, just as Allyna had accepted losing her.

Allyna knew that this was wrong on some level, but in the end, she found she simply didn't care. She still had a job that she needed to do. And if nothing else, at least she was certain her squad and the other friends she had here would miss her if she died.

 _And I just know for sure Cyessa will add me to that damn list of hers. Not that I would really mind, but damn if that isn't a little obsessive. Who knew Krogan could be so sentimental?_

Shaking any more unproductive thoughts from her head, Allyna did one last check to make sure she had everything, locked up her belongings, and headed out the door.

* * *

Lt. Arla Selemi looked over herself in her bathroom mirror, which was large enough for the tall pale blue asari to get a good look at herself.

Arla was dawned in full Eclipse armor with a tactical assault pack on her back, sniper rifle attached to the side of it. Her pistol was just under her ammo belt, which had her Warp Sword hanging from a specially made holder attached to it to keep the ancient technology from being lost in the chaos of battle.

Arla looked every bit the instant death on two legs she knew she was. And she _hated_ it.

This was _not_ what she had imagined for herself when she had first left home to try and join the Order. To be sure Arla was not unhappy with how her life had gone. Far from it actually.

She knew the reputation mercenaries had, and what it was they did. Arla however had seen no evidence it was true. Whenever she heard about some group deserting or betraying their boss, or going on a murderous rampage, it was always rumor, gossip. Random stories soldiers told each other that usually had little to no basis in reality.

Arla had never been a part of any operation that had done anything she would consider 'dishonorable', or even remotely 'Evil.' Sure, she had seen horrible, Evil things, but that was what war was. And yes, she had been forced to do things she wished she didn't have to, but in the end, those were always situations where she had no choice, and to act differently than she did would have meant worse things would have happened.

Still, as much as she didn't regret being a mercenary, Arla sometimes wondered just why she was here anymore.

With her career history, training, and skill set, she doubted she would have much difficulty getting a job as a member of an elite law enforcement group in one of the Republics on Thessia. And if that didn't work out, she could always teach what she had learned to a new generation of asari looking to become warriors.

Arla smiled at the thought. _Wouldn't that be something? A battle hardened Justicar trained drill instructor. Hah. I'd probably cause half my trainees to faint just by igniting my Warp Sword_.

Arla's smile faded as soon as it formed. That was why she was here she then remembered. Or at least, it was a very large part of it: her past. Truly, she had no place else to go.

Where would she find employment she truly liked if most of her peers looked at her with fear? Even if she explained what had happened in her past, many would likely still fear her even if they knew her well. Many more would never even bother to listen at all.

Arla knew that it would likely only be back home, or in some small Republic far away from the main cluster of asari worlds, that she would be able to find peace. Only far away from civilization, where the social stigma of being a Pureblood wouldn't instantly make most other asari hate her and most likely no person there had ever seen a Justicar, could Arla be judged on her own merits as a person rather than either feared or hated for things and events she had no control over.

Sighing, the tall pale blue asari accepted that this was her lot in life, retrieved her duffle bag, and left her room.

After she was outside Arla saw the hundreds of asari who were now getting into formation. On the Grinder the troops were in lining up according to their Company. Each Company had five Platoons, and each Company was in it's own designated location separate from the other units. All four Companies were facing a large landing pad that shuttles usually picked them up at and carried them to their transports. All of the soldiers had their weapons on their backs and duffle bags beside or behind them.

On the right side of the formations were the various Commando squads that were milling around waiting for direction. Some looked scared, others were bored, but all were anxious for what was to come.

Arla took a deep breath and went over to them as fast as she could considering the load she was carrying. And as Arla neared her comrades, she had a realization: _they_ were why she was still here. Those people right there. She may not know most of them, she may not even like many of them, but by the Goddess she couldn't just let them go off and get themselves killed. Arla wasn't the kind of person who could just sit by and let bad things happen; she had to do something about it.

So Arla went over to where the other Commandos were, asked if any of them had heard anything (none of them had of course) and waited for whatever fate had in store for her.

* * *

Corporal Raria Tesaya finished getting the last of her things together and looked over at Leria. The tall violet muscular asari had just finished loading the last of her equipment as well, and was putting on her assault pack.

Both Commandos were fully outfitted and ready to go, with their assault rifles attacked to their tactical packs, sidearms at their hips, canteens and ammo pouches filled, and all essentials loaded up. Raria had under her left arm a large pouch filled with extra medical equipment and even a basic surgeons kit should the need arise. Leria by contrast had to separate bandoleers across her chest holding extra ammunition as well as several explosives.

It never ceased to amaze Raria how different yet so alike the two were. Both were battle hardened Commandos, both were nearly identical in age, both prefered the same basic weapon type and had the same basic biotic strength levels, and both had been in Eclipse for about the same time.

Still, Raria had a well developed and traditionally beautiful figure and was of about average height for an asari her age, whereas Leria towered over most beings and was the most muscular person Raria had ever seen. Raria was also the first to admit she was shy, reserved, and something of a cynic. Leria on the other hand was friendly, outgoing, optimistic, and never seemed to let life get her down.

Leria was also in contact with her family back home (even if they were not on the best of terms at the moment) whereas Raria...Raria was doing everything in her power to forget hers, yet found time and time again she simply could not. Whether this was a good or bad thing the medic had not yet decided, but it was a fact she could not deny.

The point was, Raria was glad to have Leria by her side in this. She honestly wasn't sure she could carry on without someone to help her anymore.

As she looked over at her lover, Raria saw Leria was actually smiling and the medic couldn't help but ask, "And just what are you so happy about?"

Leria shrugged and went over to Raria and said as she checked over her lover's kit, "Nothing, just remembering the last time we had something like this happen. We stood out there for hours and it all turned out to be a drill. Remember? Sure would be funny if all this turned out to be nothing."

Leria finished her checks, patted Raria on the shoulder, and turned around for her turn.

Raria commented with a frown on her face and in a solemn voice as she checked Leria's things, "Yeah, it would, but I'm pretty sure this is the real deal. Something just...doesn't feel right about all this."

Raria finished up, and Leria turned around smirking, "Really? Something doesn't _feel right_? This coming from the same person who openly criticizes the psychic on our team despite her never having been wrong?"

Raria scowled and responded, "It's not like that! Cyessa's just plane full of shit; I'm being serious! This whole thing is just off."

Leria put her hands up and apologized, "OK, sorry. Still, you really sure about that? For all we know it's nothing."

Raria nodded but her glare didn't relent, "Yeah, or we could all be about to be deployed to a war zone where we all get killed."

Leria sighed and shook her head, "You really need to look at the positive side of things in life. you know that?"

The tall muscular asari put her hands on Raria's shoulders and said in a calm and soft voice, "Look, I don't know what's about to happen, but I do know whatever it is we'll both be better off if we have a calm and relaxed mindset going in. No sense getting so worked up before hand we can barely function, right?"

Raria gave her an annoyed look, "I'm able to function."

Leria chided, "For now maybe, but you keep stressing yourself and you won't be. I'm not asking you to be perfectly relaxed, just that you keep yourself under control. You think you can do that?"

Raria sighed and looked down at the floor, "Yeah, I guess. Still think this will turn out horribly though."

Leria nodded, "And it might. Still, can't worry about that now. Now come on, they're waiting for us out there."

The Commandos grabbed their gear and headed out the door.

* * *

Sergeant Elzia Grassi was going over everything one last time to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

Tactical Cloak? _Check_.

M 12 Locust SMG and Acolyte pistol? _Check and check_.

Water, ammo, and medi gel? _Check, check, and check_.

Spare armor parts? _Check_.

Weapon and armor maintenance kits? _Check_.

Eventually Elzia ran out of things to look over and was satisfied everything was in it's proper place. As she zipped up her duffle bag she spared one last look around her room. A room Elzia had only been in twice in the past two weeks, both of which were today, and both times were spent changing as quickly as she could into appropriate attire for the occasion. A room Elzia knew she may well never see again.

The Infiltrator went over to her bed, which looked about as filthy as a varren's den, and sat down.

Elzia had had a very interesting day so far. Finally getting released from the hospital, going to a bar with friends, gotten half a dance from the most gorgeous asari Elzia had ever seen, and now was about to go off to war for a cause that was most likely not ever her own. A war which may well take her life.

It didn't really bother Elzia though, the thought of getting killed. She knew she may well die, but that fact alone didn't bother her. She had lived as much as she could have in the time she had already been given, and despite how badly a lot of her career as a soldier had gone, she wouldn't trade it for anything. Besides, in truth, the way Ezlia's life had started out, she was shocked she was even still alive anyway.

She wanted to stay alive for as long as possible of course; it wasn't that she had some kind of death wish. It was just that she didn't have any more fears as to what (if anything) was on the other side. She had seen enough death, destruction, and misery now that whatever fear she had was only enough to keep her senses sharp, never overwhelming her or causing her to lose her head.

That was probably why Elzia was always so carefree when not in combat and cool and collected even when in the most dangerous situations. When you lost all fear of your own fate, and only cared about the lives of your friends, how could you not gain absolute control of yourself or be truly free and happy?

Elzia took one last deep breath, collected her things, and exited her room. She knew she may not make it back, but as long as whatever awaited her was grand enough to keep her entertained and her friends at least made it out, the Infiltrator didn't really care what fate had in store for her.

* * *

Specialist Cyessa Tasia had just finished packing her things and double checking that she had everything as she sat down on the floor next to her equipment. Her Harpoon Gun sniper rifle and Acolyte pistol to the right of her, her assault pack on her left, and her duffle bag directly in front of her.

This was it. She was going to war. She had been deployed countless times by now, but she treated every major deployment as serious as she did her first. As such, she always took the time to prepare herself mentally for what was to come. The horrors she was sure she would be facing. The...the losses she may well suffer.

She was a soldier. Dealing with death and loss was a part of the job. What's more, it was a part of everyday life, especially for a long lived being such as herself. She had been taught this lesson by both of her parents growing up. Taught that everything in existence was fleeting. That loss was inevitable, and that you had to make the most of the time you had with those you loved. Cyessa had done her best to adhere to this way of thinking.

That didn't mean it was easy for her.

She had done her best to cope with losing friend after friend in the wars she had been in. Done her best to accept seeing people she loved die. Done her best to remind herself that not only with their passing were they now part of the greater whole that made up the very foundation of the universe, but that they were all alive in some way, shape, or form as long as she kept their memories alive inside her.

For the most part, Cyessa had done a good job of it. The losses she had suffered had taken their toll on her, but she had managed to move past her grief and remember the good times she had shared with her _vode_. It was hard, but so far she had managed. Cyessa wasn't sure how many more friends she could lose, but as long as there were _vode_ worth fighting with and enemies that needed killing, she would press onward.

Taking a deep breath, Cyessa stood and headed over to her desk and sat down in front of her extranet terminal. Before she left there was still one last thing she had to do. Setting the terminal to record as she knew the recipients would not be awake to answer, Cyessa recorded a message.

Sitting up straight and in a clear and calm voice as possible, Cyessa spoke, " _Buirs_ , I'm sorry to have to tell you like this, but my unit's mobilizing right now. I _know_ for a fact it isn't just a drill. I don't know where I'm going or why. I don't know when I'll be able to try to contact you both again. If the worst comes to pass and...and I don't come home, then know that I chose this fate for myself, and there was nothing either of you could have done. That I lived my life according to my own rules and bowed to no one. That I was my own ruler and lived my life to the fullest."

Cyessa closed her eyes and took a deep breath while she took a moment to compose herself before finishing, " _Ret'urcye mhi. Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum_."

Cyessa then turned off her monitor, wiped the excess moisture from her face, collected her things, and headed out the door.

* * *

 **1938 local time.**

Major Irri Camas parked her sky car about thirty meters away from where her troops had finished assembling. The Major had gone home and collected her equipment after first receiving word from her Company Commanders that all her regular infantry troops were accounted for and Captain T'Nira (who was her senior most Commando) that all the Commandos were present, and then arranging transportation to the spaceport, which had taken far longer than Irri thought possible given recent events.

The Major looked at her omni tool and saw the busses the city was flying in would be here soon, meaning she had little time to explain to her people just what was happening and why. Irri felt that was just as well though. She was never one for long speeches and prefered it when people just got to the point.

Leaving all her equipment in her sky car, Irri went over to where her troops were assembled, activated her omni-tool so it would broadcast what she was about to say to them, and walked over so she was about twenty meters in front of her troops.

The regular infantry had spread out a bit, with some walking about talking to friends and others were just sitting on their things trying to relax. The Commandos were to the extreme left of the formations, and were huddled together in individual squads, rather than in a cluster of disorganized blobs that passed for formations.

When Irri was in front of them, all her people gave her their full attention and most got back into formation.

When they were done Irri broadcast to them in a clear and confident voice, "Alright people, here's the situation: we're going to war. A few hours ago, an army of Raiders invaded Hercynia. I'm sure you all know that name. I'm sure you all know what happened last time this happened, and why this incursion must be stopped now, before it gets any worse. I'm also sure you all know many of us may not come home from this, so I won't waste time with fancy words trying to inspire you all.

"What I will do instead is make sure you all remember these things: for every Raider we kill, that's one less who could be killing your friends and families. One less who could abduct and sell them into slavery. For every hour we fight the invaders, that's an hour the Republics in Council Space have to better prepare for what may be coming. For every battle we fight out there, that's one less then we will have to fight in our homes.

"We are doing this not just because we are being paid to, not just because we have been ordered to, but for our People. To make sure not one more Republic is invaded, and not one more planet laid to waste. So that no more families and lives are destroyed by these wicked, Evil monsters."

Irri looked over her right shoulder and saw the first few transports were arriving.

Turning back to her troops Irri finished, "But like I said, I'm sure you all already knew that. Just making sure you remembered. Now get your shit ready to move people. We've got a planet to liberate!"


	10. The Calm before the Storm

**Definitions:**

 _Buir_ : Mother/Father. Literally 'Parent.'

 _Ner vod_ : "My brother/sister." Colloquially also "my friend."

* * *

 _"I am simply honored that you would chose me to be your Mistress Arla, and that you would be interested in learning how to use a weapon that so few of even our own Order choose to study._

 _"Know however that this will be extremely difficult training, even by our own standards. It will take you decades to master a single Form, and centuries for you to master all of them. The nature of the weapon and training alone ensures you will also suffer a tremendous amount of pain learning how to use it. What's more, most who attempt to learn abandon their training._

 _"I say these things not to scare you or to turn you against such a field of study, only to warn you as to what lies ahead. And to make sure you understand that, even should you quite the training and decide to pursue another course of study, that nothing will be held against you."_

\- Justicar Phora talking to her new apprentice, Arla Selemi, about the difficult training it takes to learn how to use and master a Warp Sword.

* * *

 **Outer Nahuala System. 1887. En route to Hyetiana.**

In a small, cramped, and dimly lit room aboard a small shuttle the Justicars owned, Arla Selemi quickly awoke upon hearing the ship's sirens go off, signaling their journey had finally come to an end. The tall pale blue asari was dressed in a light brown pansted robe, fully dressed except for her boots, which lay at the foot of the bed. Arla had slept atop the bed facing the overhead, her body laying perfectly still during her rest if the nearly undisturbed covers were anything to go by.

Arla quickly got up, straightened up the bed, put on her boots, and headed down the passageway towards the cockpit. The shuttle was only large enough for a few people, containing a small shower, galley, and quarters enough for three without hot bunking. Arla was glad it was only her and her Mistress on this trip, and that it would soon be over and she could finally begin the next phase of her training.

Over the past two decades, Arla had trained alongside a group of other hopefuls looking to join the Order in a remote monastery on the planet Lesuss run by the Justicars. The training had been brutal, just as her Mistress had warned. They had been pushed to the limits of their physical endurance on a nearly daily basis, taught how to use a wide variety of weapons and biotic attacks, survive for weeks alone in the wilderness, how to pilot various different types of spacecraft and how to make repairs if needed, and even how to resist various types of torture and interrogation, including mental attacks from other asari.

Over the course of the training, Arla had been stabbed, shot, burned, suffered through more than one broken limb, and nearly died on one occasion. This was true for all the others she had been training with. Of the original eighty that had begun the journey to becoming Justicars, only thirty four made it passed their initial training. The rest had either died, were so horribly injured they were sent home, or simply quit.

It was not easy, but in the end, Arla made it through. No matter how dark things seemed, no matter how hopeless, Arla Selemi had managed to push through her pain. Put her doubts aside, and focus on the bigger picture. For if she could survive the horrors and pain of training, then she knew she could survive the threats and dangers that awaited her out in the galaxy.

She also received constant help in the form of various letters from home. Her family had sent message after message to her encouraging her to stay true to her wish to be a force for Good in the galaxy. She also received encouragement from her instructors. For while Justicar training was notoriously brutal, it's instructors were not. They had honestly helped Arla and several other trainees in their darkest hours and encouraged them to stay.

And finally, when Arla and the few others that remained with her had finally graduated their first stage of training, her heart had soared with pride in herself for making it farther than almost any other being would ever be able to.

After the initial training, the trainees would request from among the ranks of the Justicars not currently on assignment a Mistress who they think would best be able to train them, and be able to teach any specific skill set if the Justicar in question had any.

Arla had chosen Justicar Phora, the individual who had recruited her. When questioned why Arla had responded that she wished to learn how to use a Warp Sword, as she had grown up hearing tales of how Justicars in times past and occasionally even in the present would obliterate legions of enemies with them, and that only the most skilled could ever wield one.

And above all else, Arla Selemi wanted to be the best Justicar she could be. She wanted to wake up every morning knowing there were none better than her. Not in her own group, and none in the infinite pool of those she knew she was destined to fight against.

After warning her of the dangers and difficulties of such training, Phora had agreed, and the pair were on their way to their current destination.

As Arla entered the cockpit and sat down next to her Mistress, she couldn't help but admire the planet. Hyetiana was, for the most part, an ice world. Meaning from orbit the majority of it sparkled brilliantly as the star shined down on it, the glow obscured only be a few scattered cloud formations.

Justicar Phora, who was sitting in the pilot seat of the craft and wore a pure white pantsed robe, looked over at her new Apprentice and asked, "Are you sure you want this? Even if it will delay your field training by decades at the very least? Even if it causes you to leave the Order entirely due to injury or a failure to master your abilities?"

Arla looked at her Mistress and nodded as she responded in a confident tone, "Yes Mistress, I am. I know it will not be easy, but it is simply something I must do."

Phora responded in an emotionless voice that somehow still managed to seem a bit wary, "Very well then," and the ship descended planetward towards a region that was far closer to the North Pole then the Equator.

Eventually setting down on a landing pad near a mountain chain, the Justicar and the Apprentice gathered their things, dressed in a pair of heavy all white coats and breather masks, and exited the craft with Phora in the lead.

As soon as Arla cleared the craft, before she even had a chance to look around, she was hit with the full force of the planet's gravity. Lesuss had higher gravity than Thessia, and that had made the training somewhat harder, but it was nothing that couldn't be handled. The gravity on this world was greater still though, and while in itself not too difficult, it would still make training all the harder Arla knew.

The cold was another matter altogether. Despite the protection of one of the best coats commercially available, Arla was chilled to the bone just a few moments after walking outside the craft. The wind blasted the young trainee so hard it nearly knocked her over, and Arla was instantly grateful for the hood and mask that protected her head from the subarctic conditions.

All around the two asari was a field covered in freshly fallen snow several centimeters thick. The path they were walking down had been freshly salted by the looks of it, but it was still covered in snow and ice and Arla had to be careful where she stepped.

 _Goddess. Maybe I should rethink going through with this training afterall._

Following her Mistress along the stone path heading toward the mountain, Arla saw their destination. Carved into the side of a mountain was a series of windows, doorways, balconies (some of whom very clearly had asari wielding Warp Swords training on them), and two enormous asari statues partly covered in snow dressed in Justicar robes holding Warp Swords on either side of the structure. It actually managed to look like a temple to Arla.

Forging on ahead, the Apprentice followed her Mistress, and soon enough they were inside the mountain and out of the cold. Pulling her hood back and removing her mask, Arla took a few deep breaths before looking around.

Inside the mountain vast amount of rock had been removed, and ahead of her Arla saw several pillars that had been carved to look like elegant columns holding up a normal temple. Further back Arla saw several staircases that had also been carved out leading both above and below her current position. All around her Arla saw several dozen asari of various ages dressed in robes similar to her own, all of them carrying Warp Swords.

Phora gestured for Arla to follow her and ordered, "Come, let's get you settle in before it get's dark. I want to make as much use of the daylight as we can."

Arla followed her Mistress down a flight of stairs and asked, "We will start today Mistress?"

Phora nodded as the pair came to a long hallway with rooms carved out on either side, "Yes. It's already late summer in this hemisphere, meaning soon we will have to train in artificial light. And while that is...acceptable, I always prefer to train outside as much as possible and in natural light."

Arla stopped for a moment and hid her fear as best she could as she asked in a soft voice, "You...you mean we will be training _outside_ Mistress?"

Phora turned around and nodded, "As much as we can, yes. In the winter it is far too hazardous, but fortunately we arrived just in time to get a few months of practice done before the cold and darkness sets in. Now, enough talk. We still need to get you a training sword, settled in here, and acquainted with the other Order members who will be teaching you on the finer arts of crafting and maintaining your own Sword. These things will take time, and I don't want to waste a such a perfect summer's day as the one we have now if it can be helped."

Arla followed her Mistress down the hall, albeit at a much slower pace, and wondering just what it was she had gotten herself in for.

 _Well, I did say this is what I wanted. I suppose it's true what they say about being careful what you wish for._

Arla pushed all her fears, regrets, and discomforts out of her mind as she followed her Mistress down the hall towards her new quarters. If she was to be a warrior for Justice, she knew she had to adapt to any situation, push through any amount of pain, and overcome any unexpected turn of events. Arla resolved to make the most of her training here, and vowed to always do the best she could, do her best to make her Mistress and family proud of her, and to use this opportunity to help her become the best warrior for Order and Justice she could be.

 _Besides, just because I'm toughing out the cold doesn't mean I can't also be wishing winter to get here as soon as it can, right?_

* * *

 **Star Tours vessel Tzarina. 2175. Location Classified.**

Captain Allyna T'Nira watched as Arla, who was dressed in a pair of Eclipse fatigues like the Captain herself, stood perfectly straight with her feet together, hands at her sides, and Warp Sword clipped to her belt. After she took a few deep breaths Arla unclipped the weapon, ignited it, and began to go through one of her Forms.

The pair were in one of the cruise liner's gymnasiums, with the Lieutenant standing in the center of a large matted area with special cylindrical machines designed to withstand biotic attacks lining the edges of the mats. Allyna stood just outside the perimeter. All around the Eclipse officers were various cardio and weight lifting machines, with a few drinking fountains scattered about.

Arla began by holding her arms at her sides at roughly thirty degree angles with her left palm open to her front. The Lieutenant then brought her Sword up around her head so that the blade was pointing down at the floor as it circled her body, advanced with her right foot, and diagonally slashed down from her right to her left side.

Arla repeated with the opposite sides next, then moved to the right bringing her Sword up so that it was at her hip yet parallel to the deck pointing behind her. Selemi advanced several steps swiping the blade from side to side aiming at the midsection of her imagined foes. When she got to the end of the ring she turned and began a new set.

When that was done Arla brought the blade so that it was roughly parallel with her shoulder pointing towards the overhead and made a series of upward slashed as she advanced a few paces. After a couple of steps Arla would bring her blade over her head and behind her. As she advanced Arla soon incorporated all the motions into one fluid form.

When she was back at her starting point, the tall pale blue asari began to move faster. So much so that Allyna found it hard to tell exactly what was happening. Arla moved from one end to the other in a matter of seconds, her Warp Sword appearing to be at several places at once.

Once she had completed another set, Arla moved faster still. And in addition to basic blocks and attacks, Arla began to twirl around and attack imagined enemies behind her in fluid slashes that went up and came back down behind her. Arla would then twirl her Sword up and down again placing herself facing the way she was in the beginning.

Back and forth she went with, hacks, stabs, and slashes at a lightning fast pace. When she had again reached the point she started at, Arla accelerated to the point Allyna couldn't even see her, instead witnessing flashes of blue and purple light as it advanced from side to side jumping, slashing stabbing, any imagined foes that stood in the mercenary's way.

Allyna was reminded of how grateful she was that Arla was on her side.

When the tall pale blue asari was done her shirt was completely soaked in sweat, her head was dripping with the same, and she was breathing rather heavily as she extinguished her Sword and walked out of the ring, an emotionless look of fury on her face. And yet, as she advanced toward Allyna, the face rapidly melted away. All the emotionless _power_ she exuded left her, leaving a friendly and warm, if somewhat exhausted, look.

Allyna smiled and clapped as Arla approached, "Very nice show. I just wished it could have gone on longer."

Arla sighed as she went over to a bench that had her towel and water bottle atop it, "Yeah well, time in the hospital will slow anyone down. It'll take a bit before I'm at full strength again."

Allyna put on a smile and consoled her, "That looked pretty good to me. More than fast and strong enough to obliterate a full platoon of pirates. We'll be fine."

Arla sighed as she put her water bottle down, "Maybe, but maybe not. Not much choice I know, but I really would have liked a few weeks to get back into the habit of practicing. Fucking medical and their 'no strenuous exercise' nonsense."

Allyna sighed, "Yeah, well, like you said: no real choice and it doesn't matter anyway."

Arla nodded, "Yeah. Anyway, I'm done here and was about to head to the galley after I showered. Meet you there in half an hour?"

Allyna nodded, and headed off to find a place to sit and wait for her friend.

It had been about a full day since the battalion had shipped out, and most of it had been spent jumping from one system to another, heading only to systems that were almost certain not to be invaded and therefore put the transports at risk. The ships only staying in one system long enough to refuel or discharge their drive cores.

It had been an uneventful yet highly stressful day for most of the troops. They had been told nothing as to just what was going on in the Bithynia System, when exactly they would arrive there, if that was their immediate destination or even if it would be in time to do any good. Still, seeing as how the ships had gone through a number of jumps and that Illium was relatively close to the invaded system, most of the Eclipse troops figured it wouldn't be long before they were deployed.

This had caused a great deal of anxiety for them, as most of the soldiers were used to being in situations where they were the ones setting the pace of the fighting and knew exactly where they were, where the enemy was, and what their relative strengths were.

Morale on the ship, though not necessarily bad, was not doing very well either. Most of the troops were still carrying on, but some were not taking the news of a major invasion of Asari Space particularly well. The fact they all had no idea exactly when they would be linking up with the other Asari forces or launching a counter attack made matters worse.

Allyna was hoping for at least a few hours warning before that happened, but she knew they might just arrive in the Bithynia System and be deployed with little to no warning or time to prepare, as such incidents had happened to her more often then she would have liked in her past.

Banishing any and all negative thoughts from her head, the tall lavender asari eventually entered the ship's dining facility, which was a spacious, well lit, and highly decorated compartment. All about the room Eclipse members dressed in their fatigues sat eating and chatting. A large buffet on one end of the room providing a wide variety of dishes and drinks.

Looking around the room, Allyna noticed Leria and Raria were sitting at one table chatting with a couple girls from Yayax Squad. The Captain was about to go over to see them, but also noticed that just beyond them in a corner of the room was Major Camas sitting by herself staring at a collection of data pads on the table in front of her. Sparing her friends a wave and a smile, Allyna went over where her CO was sitting.

Allyna greeted in a slightly sarcastic voice as she sat down on a seat across from Irri, "Hello there Fearless Leader. How's your day been going?"

Irri sighed and rubbed her temples as she responded, "Captain. Anything I can do for you?"

Allyna nodded, "Yeah. If you could tell me just what's going on and when we'll be deploying that would be nice."

Irri looked up from the data pads and replied in a tired voice, "We'll be arriving at the rendezvous coordinates in a couple hours, just as soon as we're done refueling. After that I have no idea."

Allyna was skeptical, "Really? High Command didn't give you any clue as to what the overall battle plan is?"

Irri shook her head, "Just where we would be heading and when to be there by. If it helps it's a system just one Relay jump away from the Bithynia System, so we might be headed into combat in about a day or so. Or we might be stuck waiting around for whatever idiot High Command put in charge of this campaign to decide just what they're going to do. Really, I have no clue when we'll engage the enemy."

Allyna sighed, "Great. Well, thanks for telling me you don't have any fucking clue what's going on. As usual."

Just as Allyna got up to leave Irri called out, "Captain!"

Allyna looked at her CO and asked in a slightly annoyed tone, "Yeah?"

Irri took a breath and explained in as calm a voice as she could manage, "I don't know what will be happening when we link up with the Republics' forces. I don't know what High Command's plan is. If I knew I would have every reason to tell you. As it stands I _don't_. I know not knowing is hard. I know the troops are getting anxious and are scared out of their minds right now. I know I'm not exactly the most popular CO you all have ever had. But I don't hide things from people. Not without very good reason at least."

Irri sighed and continued, "I am doing my best to keep you all in the know as much as I can. The instant something important is told to me, I will be sure to brief you. The moment a plan is drawn up, I'll inform you. The first chance I have to give everyone a chance to relax and send a message home I will. I know this is all so sudden. I know this is all hard. But you and I are both _professional soldiers_ , and if you could maybe work with me a bit and talk to a few of the other officers and try to keep the troops' morale up and ease the tension a bit, I would be grateful."

Allyna was surprised at Irri's little outburst. Normally she was just yelled at whenever she treated a piss poor CO like she just had, waved it off, and went back to work as if nothing had happened.

What Irri had said was...different. It wasn't outright condemnation or demanding absolute obedience to a moron who had no clue what they were doing. It was...a person asking for help.

Allyna fully faced Irri, straightened her shirt a bit and asked, "Exactly what do you need me to do?"

Irri answered, "What I just said: try to keep people's spirits up as best you can and keep them from completely breaking down. If you could talk to the other officers and NCO's on the ship and maybe get them on board I would be grateful. I tried it myself and it didn't work. But with you...I think it just might."

Allyna was surprised at that, "Really? Why?"

Irri said, "People respect you Captain. You might not be my favorite person in the galaxy, but even I have to admit you're a good soldier when you choose to be and get shit done. That means a lot and...I can respect that if nothing else."

Allyna just stood there dumbfounded at the compliment her CO gave her.

After a few seconds Allyna said, "I um...I'll see what I can do. It might be asking a lot to have the troops stabilized before we hit the ground if it's happening in a day or two, but we'll do what we can."

Irri visibly relaxed at that, "Thank you Captain. That...that means a lot."

Allyna gave her a nod and, despite herself, a small smile, "Anytime Major. Can't have everything go to shit just because the idiots at the top don't feel like sharing when we're charging into enemy fire now, can we?"

With that, Allyna turned around and headed over to where the food was being served just as Arla was entering the room.

As the pair entered the line to get food Arla asked, "So, I miss anything important?"

Allyna answered as she got a plate, "Yeah. After lunch you and me are going to embark on a moral building crusade for the scared, tired, and confused members of our unit."

Arla nodded, and the two quickly ate their lunch before at least trying to stabilize the moral of the troops on the ship.

* * *

Specialist Cyessa Tasia sat in a chair fully dawned in a suit of armor in one of the ship's recreational rooms. This one in particular was lit with only enough light to walk about, as it was equipped with several circular table like holographic projectors showing the various explored systems throughout the galaxy. The projectors had consols on them allowing the user to bring up whatever system they desired, and to zoom in on individual planets with such high quality that individual streets on fully developed worlds like Thessia or Illium could appear. Each projector had a half dozen or so seats around it.

Cyessa typed in a few commands, and soon a projection of the system they were in was displayed above her. The system was unremarkable, with only two gas giants and a refueling station. The Star Tours vessels themselves were also displayed, with two of the three black rhombus shaped ships slowly undocking from the station they finished refueling at.

Cyessa sighed, knowing it wouldn't be long now before they arrived at the rendezvous point. The system they were in was just inside Outer Council Space, and the Bithynia System was only a couple Relay jumps away and right along the border of the Traverse. As soon as the cruise liners had finished, it would only take a few moments to jump to another system, and from there they would finally be deployed against the invaders.

Though the thought of going into battle was no doubt part of why Cyessa was feeling rather stressed at the moment, the main cause of her anxiety was that she had not been able to check her extranet account and check to see if her parents had responded back to her message or maybe send a new one. Though the troops had free reign over most of the ship and had been given free food and drink and entertainment while they were here, the battalion was under a strict comms blackout. No messages going out, and no access to any terminal that had extranet capability. Meaning no messages to or from home.

 _Can't say I expected anything else though. It's not like calling home and saying "_ Hey Buirs, guess what? I'm going off to liberate the people in the Bithynia System riding in an amazing Star Tours ship! Wish you were here! _" wouldn't just give the bastards everything they needed to know to find and kill us all. Still, would be nice to send another message home._

Shaking her head at herself for feeling such thoughts, the short teal asari punched a few commands into the console, sat back, and watched as the hologram changed shape. Instead of viewing a single system, Cyessa looked over a map of the entire border between Council Space and the Traverse. Hundreds of star systems and thousands of planets of all shapes, colors, and sizes floated in mid air in front of her. They span and floated about above the projector, and Cyessa was mesmerized at the sight. So much so that she didn't sense the presence of Elzia walking toward her until her friend was nearly at the door.

Looking over at the hatch, Cyessa smiled as Elzia entered the compartment dressed in a pair of fatigues with a smile on her face.

Cyessa said in a playful voice as Elzia walked over to her, "Your uniform looks clean, you don't have two of the ship's crew members who are piss drunk and giggling at your stupid jokes under your arms, and you aren't carrying a bottle or two of liquor you _tactically acquired_ from the ship's storeroom. You sure you're doing alright _ner vod_? I'm honestly beginning to wonder if maybe we shouldn't have left you back at the base's hospital."

Elzia sighed, sat down next to the Sniper, and held up increasing number of fingers as she counted off, "Firstly, I'm perfectly capable of doing laundry thank you very much. That week we spent on Nevos was an isolated incident and you know it. Second, none of the crew are nearly hot enough to be worth getting with. And third, the alcohol here's free. Meaning I could get some just by asking, thereby making stealing any of it completely pointless."

The Infiltrator looked up at the display and remarked, "And it's not like you have any better habits. Staring at pretty pictures all day, drawing _horrifically mangled_ sketches of people you know, writing really _weird_ poetry. The fuck kind of Krogan are you anyway doing things like that?"

Cyessa smirked, "There's beauty outside of battle _ner vod_. Just like there's more to life than getting into people's pants' and minds and getting wasted every chance you get. Maybe if you'd spend a few minutes doing something constructive you'd realize that."

Elzia waved her off, "Yeah yeah. Anyway, you really like staring at images of space? Don't you ever get tired of that? I mean, you said your parents work in space a lot right? Didn't you see enough when you were young to be bored with it by now?"

Cyessa smiled. She hadn't expected Elzia to remember what her parents did for a living, only having explained it once several years ago now at a time she was just barely getting to know her squad. She was certain they had all forgotten about what she had told them, and only remembered Cyessa was a Krogan at all due to her constantly using Krogan vocabulary and going by her Clan name. Though she knew her squadmates cared for her, she did not expect them to remember small and trivial details about her life. It meant a lot to her Elzia had.

The Sniper explained, "Actually no. My parents work on cargo freighters, which don't exactly have a lot of windows. Also when they were raising me they were able to switch up exactly what they did for the company they worked for so they could actually be there for me growing up. It was a bit difficult for them, mom especially given her speciality, but they managed. We took trips when I was young sure, but I didn't see large chunks of the galaxy until I became a soldier."

Elzia nodded and went on, "Right. Remind me, exactly what do your parents do again that they had to more or less switch jobs when you came around?"

Cyessa explained, "Mom's a Navigator and dad's an Engineer. It was easy for dad to find a different position, but seeing as how all the galactic trade routes have already been plotted out and most companies use predetermined flight paths, there wasn't much mom could do. She tried a lot of positions, but...most never really worked out. She sometimes would go back to a ship just to feel useful."

Elzia gave her a sorry look, "Didn't that take her away from you?"

Cyessa shook her head, "It was usually just to another system in the Athena Nebula and back. A week long trip at the most, and they were never close together. It's not like she was going on extended voyages. Besides, it was mostly when I was fairly young and also allowed me and dad to get a good amount of alone time."

Elzia cocked her head to the side and asked, "And by 'alone time' do you mean him teaching you to become a cold and emotionless killing machine?"

Cyessa laughed and answered, "Ha! No, he would just sit down with me and tell me stories about great warriors in days long past in our people's history. I don't expect you to really care so I won't get into it, but the Krogan have a lot of very good stories about heroes in the days before the Uplift. Lots of fighting, dying, heartbreak, tragedy, struggle against impossible odds. You know, Cultural stuff most dismiss us as not having because most are like you and think we're all just 'emotionless killing machines'."

Elzia actually got a bit mad at that, "Hey, _none_ of us here think that! And for the record, you _are_ a killing machine! How many people have you stared into the eyes of and eliminated without even batting an eye huh? Tell me, because I sure would like to know."

Cyessa sighed and apologised, "OK, sorry, I didn't really mean you or the rest of the team. I meant the galaxy at large. Most just look at us and see thugs and don't ever bother to look at our history, culture, value system, or anything that makes us people. They just see the mindless violence and hatred that we spread. And yes that's an issue, but if they looked at Why we're like this, I really think the galaxy might just think differently of us."

Cyessa looked down at the ground for a moment, "As for my own kill count...it's just shy of a thousand now."

Elzia was visibly shocked at that, "One _thousand_?"

Cyessa looked at her and shrugged, "Nearly a century's worth of combat operations, being Really good at my job, and fighting against armies whose only tactic is to charge in endless waves of poorly armed troops against fortified positions will do that."

Elzia nodded, still shocked, "I...I see."

After a few moments of silence Cyessa asked, "Anyway, did you just want to relax with me or did you need something?"

Elzia actually blushed a bit as she answered, "Well, actually, going back to what you said earlier about not getting with any of the crew members…"

Elzia took a breath and said in a very serious tone that did not sound at all like her normally carefree self, "Rumor has it we'll be arriving at our destination soon, and I was wondering if maybe you would like to find a room and enjoy these last few hours before that happens. I know we've been through and will probably _go_ through worse in the future, but if this does turn out to be our last deployment…"

Elzia reached over and took one of Cyessa's hands in her own, "I'd like to have some of my last memories be of spending time with someone I cared a lot about. You up for it?"

Cyessa could only smile as she replied, "Sure." And the two went off to spend what may well be the last few hours of their lives in the loving embrace of a friend.


	11. Serdica: Opening Moves

**A/N** : I am terribly sorry about how late this is. Life...threw me a few curve balls a while ago, and it's taken me some time to get over them. I also would like to thank all those who have supported this story. With special shout outs going to **JimmyHall24** and **magnusvictor** for blitzing through significant amounts of material recently, and most of all **LogicalPremise** for just being an awesome friend in general. Truly, I could not ask for better supporters.

Now, on with the show, and please review!

 **Definitions** :

APC: Armored Personnel Carrier

HTC: Holographic teleconference

 _Ardats_ : Demons

* * *

 _"What do you mean none of the outlying Republics are sending any troops?! You mean to tell me those corrupt, greedy, slave trading CEO's on Illium could just send in over a thousand soldiers with no issue but the Republics who_ we're about to go to war for _couldn't even raise a_ single Company _?_

 _"Fine. We'll go in without them. But if this campaign fails because we didn't have enough ground forces, I just_ know _there will be Hell to pay on the part of the Border Colonies."_

 _-_ Admiral Ashara Vau, Commanding Officer of the Asari Sixth Fleet, upon hearing the Republics in the outer reaches of Council Space had no forces to send to aide her campaign.

* * *

 **Star Tours vessel _Tzarina_. Location classified.**

Major Irri Camas stood in the back of the ship's bridge leaning up against a bulkhead. The tall cyan skinned asari was staring through the window at the front of the compartment and out into the vastness of space wondering just when, or indeed _if_ , she and her forces would get the word to jump into the Bithynia System and begin their portion of the campaign.

The bridge of the ship was fairly well spread out, with stations along the walls, a few located in the front of the room, and the Captain's chair located in the exact center. The anxiety in the room was palpable, and Irri hoped that, one way or another, it would be over soon. Waiting for the results of a battle, Irri had come to understand, was almost as bad as the battle itself at times.

Almost.

It had been a full standard day since Irri and her troops had arrived in the system and joined the forces already assembled, which included the asari Sixth Fleet and a few thousand other asari mercenaries that had been close enough to answer the call. In that time Irri and the other officers had done their best to keep order on the ship, and had at least managed to keep moral from getting much worse while they awaited their next orders.

Orders that had only come through in the last few hours. Originally the plan was to allow three days for the Sixth Fleet and any ground forces who could arrive in the region to assemble and act as the vanguard for the asari's counter offensive against the invading pirates. When Irri and her forces had arrived, things were actually going fairly well. The entire Sixth Fleet, some sixty ships in total, had arrived in time. As had nearly four thousand mercenaries including Irri and her Battalion.

The ground troops were all on separate sleep schedules though, and it would take time for them all to adjust to a single rotation. Meaning deploying all of them in the coming battle would be...undesirable, but there was no alternative. Besides, these were professional soldiers who knew how to adjust to such obstacles. So, with a full fleet assembled along with a sizeable contingent of mercenaries, Irri was at first sure that as soon as they got the rest of their reinforcements that their victory, both on the ground and in space, would be assured.

That is, until a few hours ago when Admiral Vau received word from High Command. Evidently none of the Border Colonies felt they could spare any of their militia, citing that a defeat in the coming campaign and therefore a loss of their troops would leave them vulnerable to attack. To say Admiral Vau had been furious at the news was an understatement. While Irri understood their reasoning and sympathized with them, she agreed with the Admiral on this one.

This was not going to be a battle that could be one with space power alone. In order to win here, they needed to drive the pirates out of Serdica by way of a ground assault. The invaders already occupied large sections of the Republic, and it was a garden world in any case, meaning any kind of orbital bombardment would be illegal even if such an attack wouldn't kill Millions of innocent asari.

With no support coming from the nearby colonies and the nearest reinforcements still days away, Admiral Vau had given the order to begin the offensive a few hours ago. All ground forces were to be on full alert while Vau took most of her fleet and jumped through the Relay into the Bithynia System. According to her plan, Vau would first destroy the enemy fleet and then signal the ground troops once it was safe for them. Once all her forces were in the System and they could take stock of the situation a plan would be drawn up on the liberation of the City-State.

The fleet had jumped nearly two hours ago now, and Irri was beginning to grow nervous. The enemy numbers were not known, but believed to be fewer than the total number of ships Vau took with her, and the asari's ships were no doubt better maintained and possessed both better armor and firepower. Then again, the asari had few, if any, combat experienced naval personnel and were going up against a battle hardened enemy. The Major honestly thought the Sixth Fleet would prevail in the end, but was not sure how much it would cost them.

 _Hopefully not too many. It takes months to repair a ship even when it has light damage. If it suffers major-_

"Major, incoming transmission!"

Irri was shaken by her thoughts by a young looking crew member to her left on a position on the walls. The young light purple skinned asari explained as Irri looked her way, "Orders from Admiral Vau: all troop transports are to jump into the system and set up an HTC as soon as possible."

Irri nodded as the various crew members began preparations to jump. The Major meanwhile sent a message to her officers to assemble in a board room that had been designated for Fleet wide mission briefings. As soon as she was done Irri looked up and saw the Relay come into view. A few moments later the _Tzarina_ and all the other transports were catapulted nearly a thousand light years away.

As soon as the ships had entered the system Irri surveyed the wreckage left over from the naval battle. Bits of debris and bodies drifted helplessly through space in a massive cloud of what remained of the pirate fleet. Then after a few moments of subluminal travel the planet Hercynia came into view, with what seemed to be the entire Sixth Fleet in orbit over the world. Irri couldn't help but take a few moments to admire how beautiful and peaceful the planet's mostly green surface and large blue oceans looked before exiting the bridge and heading to the briefing room.

When the Major arrived all twelve of her Commando Squad leaders were present, as was the Commander and Platoon Leaders of Arca Company, the infantry Company present on the ship. The troops were all dawned in their armor and spread out along the bulkheads. In the exact center of the room was a large circular table big enough to fit well over a dozen people. Directly above the table was a cylindrical holographic projector.

When Irri arrived at her designated position, she punched a few commands into her omni tool, which in turn sent commands to the projector, and entered the conference. All along the table asari mercenary commanders began to appear. All of them in suits of either light armor or form fitting body suits that offered little to no protection. Irri felt odd in the presence of them, and not just because she was the only one wearing a uniform that might actually save her life if she were hit.

Most were fairly 'young' by asari standards, almost all except for Irri still in the Maiden stage of their lives, and by the looks of them the Major doubted most had seen any real action. Irri by contrast was over four hundred years old now and was a veteran of over a dozen campaigns. The Major knew that none of those things necessarily meant the officers present or their troops were incompetent or would not be able to fight effectively, but fighting alongside inexperienced soldiers always made Irri nervous.

Despite what their occupation and reputation might suggest, most mercenaries (especially asari mercenaries) never saw actual combat. Most were little more than glorified and heavily armed private security or bodyguards hired by those who liked having an armed escort around them or their property. The average mercenary might spend the occasional contract training a militia group in basic marksmanship or small unit tactics, but the quality of said training was always in doubt when the instructor herself had no real experience.

It was a very rare thing for a mercenary (at least ones operating in Council Space) to ever see a prolonged campaign. Soldiers like Irri and the ones she commanded were the extreme exception. Couple that with the lack of wars the asari had fought over the course of history, and you were left with a very small pool of soldiers who could actually _fight_. This, Irri knew, meant that, for the good of the campaign and the other forces assembled, that she and her troops would have to do the bulk of the fighting.

 _Goddess be with us if this campaign lasts very long. Doubtful we could get reinforced properly out here, and going up against enemies like these I just know we'll take heavy losses if even one mistake is made._

After a few minutes all the mercenary leaders had gathered, and Admiral Vau materialized at her station.

Admiral Vau was a tall asari, and Irri was reminded of Lt. Selemi by the look of her. Though it was hard to tell exactly what her skin color was, the Major was sure Vau had an almost unnaturally light blue skin tone. Vau also seemed to have gold colored eyes, no facial markings, plus an athletic and well built body. The Admiral wore a dark red uniform.

A hologram of Serdica appeared in front of the asari, including blue and red dots indicating unit positions.

Vau began in a cold and clearly agitated voice as she pointed at the display, "Alright people, here's the situation: the local militia, police, and civilian volunteers have been able to hold the line so far against the invaders, and have managed to bog down their assault while eliminating a good chunk of their force. The bad news is they can't hold out much longer, and all things considered it's probably a good thing we arrived when we did."

Vau pointed to the Southern most location on the map and said, "The pirates began their assault by capturing the spaceport at the Southern end of the City-State, and gradually have advanced North from there. Local troops armed with missile launchers and biotics have managed to keep the enemy confined to moving along the ground. Bad news is the enemy has those toys too, along with AA defenses erected at the spaceport, so we can't deploy fighters or gunships to assist."

Irri and the others let out a collective groan at that. Irri and her forces had left in such a hurry that they didn't have time to bring any Mechs. And though some of the other mercenary units had a few APCs, they only numbered a couple dozen. Nowhere near enough to do anything except provide basic support. This meant that the infantry would be in a more difficult fight then they had anticipated.

The mercenaries accepted the situation and listened as Vau pointed to various points of interest, "As for the enemy's advance, it's now evolved into a three pronged offensive. One group is headed into the Northeast section. There's a vid-station there the militia is using to coordinate the defense of the City-State. Apparently all the police and militia buildings have already been captured, and if that place goes so does all coordinated resistance."

Pointing to a cluster of dots in the center of the map Vau went on, "The largest single force is heading for the main intersection in the centermost part of the Republic. If the pirates take that intersection, they could encircle all other defensive positions currently set up. Holding the intersection should be your main priority."

Vau pointed to a spot in the Western part of the City State and explained, "The final main enemy push is in the West. Most likely headed for the Republic's general hospital, as there doesn't seem to be anything of strategic or monetary value there."

Vau turned her gaze to Irri and ended, "Alright Major, you know the situation. I'm placing you in command of the ground campaign. I don't have any idea what the size of the enemy's force is at this time, but if information provided by the militia is to be believed, then we might actually be attacking a weaker force at this point. I'm taking the Fleet and heading back to the Relay to make sure we don't receive anymore unwelcome guests. I trust you can handle this?"

Irri hid her shock well as she asked, "You...you're putting _me_ in charge Admiral?"

Vau nodded, "Correct Major. You're the most experienced soldier here, and obviously I can't lead a ground campaign when I'm on the other side of the System and I don't know how to command a ground battle in any event. Why? Don't feel you can handle this?"

Irri wasn't sure how to respond. Originally the plan was for a senior militia leader from one of the Outer Colonies to take command. And even when she had learned there would be no reinforcements from there, Irri had assumed Admiral Vau would either take command herself or appoint one of her officers to lead the assault.

After a few moments Irri took a breath and answered in a confident voice, "I can handle this Admiral. It's just...a bit of a shock being told I'm now commanding a force far larger than I'm used to."

Vau nodded, "I understand. Still, I need you to get this done. Do whatever you have to to liberate this Republic. Do not let us down Major. Goddess be with you. Vau out."

With that, the Admiral was gone.

Irri then took a few moments to take stock of...of _her_ current forces.

The dozen mercenary groups that had arrived had been organized into four separate Battalions of around a thousand soldiers each. Each Battalion had been organized in correlation with which general sleep schedule the troops that comprised it were on. Irri and her troops were designated as the First Battalion, as they were the closest to which shift was expected to be on duty when the attack would begin. They were well rested, and ready to fight.

Second and Third Battalions were in rougher spots, but were not so far gone as to be useless. It would be rough for them, but with stimulants, the rush from being deployed once they were down, and maybe a little motivation from their officers, the troops in these units would be combat effective.

The Fourth Battalion Irri knew she couldn't count on, no matter how many drugs they took, where they were deployed, or how many speeches they were given. They were on the complete opposite shift as the other forces, and would normally be asleep at this time. The plan was to try and keep them in reverse unless absolutely necessary, and that was when they had a full other day to adjust. Professionals though they may be, deploying troops who had not slept in nearly a full day would only cause far more casualties then it was worth.

Irri hardened her gaze, took a breath, and began after taking a few moments to form the best plan she could, "Alright then, let's get to work. The push in the center needs to be our main priority."

Camas looked up at a very young looking dark blue skinned asari with brown facial markings around her eyes, pointed to a roadway about half a klick back from the current front line, and asked in a voice that made it clear it wasn't really a question, "Can The Purple Rain drop along this axis?"

The Purple Rain was probably the only mercenary group here aside from Irri's that had real experience in combat. They were about one hundred and sixty strong, and specialized in Orbital Drops. Irri felt their choice in name for their unit was a bit morbid and odd, but then again most asari mercenary companies had weird, childish, and just generally stupid names more often than not.

Irri didn't really care what they called themselves so long as they could hold out. They were in the Third Battalion, meaning they were not in the greatest shape rest wise, but they were all Irri had aside from her own Commandos who could deploy in such a confined area.

The young asari just smirked and replied, "Not an issue there boss lady."

Irri nodded, "Very good. In that case, you and yours will deploy and reinforce the intersection. Hold the line no matter what. I'll deploy several dozen Commandos to help, but they will take several minutes to fully assemble and reinforce you."

Irri looked over at the Company Commander who was in the room, a being of medium build, light purple skin, and no facial markings and ordered, "Captain Runa, make sure the local militia know _not_ to shoot at the ODST pods that are about to rain down just behind their positions."

Runa nodded just before bringing up her omni tool to call the bridge's comm station and relay the message.

Irri then looked over at Captain T'Mukan and said, "Elara, take every squad except for Null, Yayax, Alpha, Beta, and Epsilon. That should give you enough people. Organize them as you see fit, but you are to take orders from the Purple Rain's CO once groundside. Understood?"

Elara nodded, and the Major continued as she pointed to the other locations, "As for the rest of you: Captain T'Nira take Null and Yayax Squads to defend the vid-station. Lt. Matosi take Alpha and Beta to defend the hospital. You all hold those locations no matter the cost, understand?"

All the team leads nodded, and Irri then looked over at Lt. Enyala and said, "As for you Lieutenant, I'm afraid you're going to have to watch over me while I try to keep some semblance of order in this mess."

Captain T'Nira was surprised at that, "You're deploying with us ma'am?"

Irri nodded, "I won't be able to properly coordinate from up here; we don't have the right equipment. So yes, I'm deploying groundside. You won't see me at the front, but I'll be down there somewhere."

Irri looked back at the map and pointed to even more locations in the North of the Republic as she ordered, "Anyway, as for the infantry units, First Battalion will deploy in this park here in the Central Northern sector. Second in the Northwest in these plazas, and Third in these parking lots near the stadiums in the Northeast. Once we're all deployed, we'll head straight down these major walkways and push these _ardats_ back to the spaceport. Assuming we succeed and most of us don't die along the way, we'll reassess from there."

Irri looked her subordinates in the eye and asked in a commanding yet honest and open voice, "Any questions, concerns, or better suggestions?"

When none responded Irri gave a nod and ended, "Well then people, we all have our orders. Let's get this done."

* * *

 **Star Tours shuttle. Serdica outskirts.**

Corporal Raria Tesaya took a deep breath as she slid her hand into the pouch, grabbed the last remaining lot, and pulled it out and began waiting for the signal with the rest of the squad to open their hands. The Medic sat in the aisle seat of the shuttle, her squadmates all around her. Leria across from her, Arla in the seat just in front of hers, Allyna in the aisle to her left holding the bag, and Elzia and Cyessa sitting across from each other in the row behind Raria.

The eight members of Yayax Squad sat a few rows behind the Nulls. All were fully equipped for combat. The shuttle resembled a bus in design and length, with a long cylindrical shape and several rows of seats. Out the windows of the craft the Commandos could see the outer reaches of the City-State coming into view.

Large sections of farmland surrounded Serdica, with small and elegantly designed spire shaped buildings making up the farthest edges of the settlement. Spires that only increased with size as you went deeper into the City-State, the towers glowing brilliantly in the mid day sun. The view would have been enjoyable if they were not heading into combat.

Raria and the others all nodded to each other, and opened their hands at once.

Raria had drawn the white rock.

The Medic sighed but still gave the others a nod, Leria giving her a confident and reassuring smile. The tall muscular asari was about to say something when a voice from a few rows back asked in a disbelieving tone, "What, are you kidding me?"

The Nulls all turned and saw the one who had spoken, an asari of average height and slender build, light blue skin, green eyes, and brown facial markings along her crest and cheek bones. The asari, like Raria, had a medical kit at her hip and carried an assault rifle into battle.

The Yayax Squad member went on, "You all are having your _fucking medic_ lead the way? What if she gets hit? You expect me to care for _both_ our teams?"

Raria gave the other Medic a sympathetic look and nodded as she handed the rock back to Allyna, "I was hoping you could Corra. Do you really mind that much?"

Corra still had a disbelieving look on her face as she replied, "Of course not, but it still seems pretty stupid an idea to have _you_ be the one taking point."

The shuttle had entered the City State proper now; tall elegant spires surrounding the Commandos and their ship.

Raria sighed and said in a tired voice, "It's just our system Corra. Rule Seventy Eight: Never change a system as long as it's working."

Corra shook her head but didn't say anything more.

A few moments later the shuttle was setting down in an intersection and deployed the Commandos about half a kilometer from their target. As soon as they exited the craft, the Commandos headed over to the nearest building on the corner of the intersection, stacked up against it's side, and took stock of their surroundings.

The area around the Squads was devoid of anyone, civilian or military. All the shops and restaurants that lined the walkways were deserted. An occasional sky car was parked every few dozen meters in front of a building, but there were no clues as to where their owners were. The Commandos could hear the sounds of gunfire in the distance however, as well as rocket blasts and what sounded like high powered sniper rifles.

Raria, who was at the head of the column and on the corner of a building, quickly peaked out from her cover with her rifle raised in the direction of the gunfire. Upon seeing only more deserted sky cars, the Medic lead the others down the road and toward their objective. After a few minutes the Commandos came within a few dozen meters of the vid-station. Based on the roars of gunfire and the shouting that only got louder as she continued to lead the group, Raria guessed the enemy was here as well.

Stacking up along another corner of a building at another intersection that lead to the road the vid station was located on, Raria threw up as strong a Barrier as she could manage, slowly peaked around the corner, and examined the situation.

The pirates were just now assaulting the station from across a fairly wide open walkway. Several sky cars and two crashed buses on either side of the road provided them cover as they advanced toward the spire. Some hostiles had rocket launchers, while others had machine guns and high powered sniper rifles. Several squads of enemies looked to be preparing to advance into the station as others began a new bombardment. Raria estimated about sixty or seventy percent of the attackers were asari, with most of the rest being batarians or humans. Most were dressed in some type of armor, the color and design of which varied greatly from pirate to pirate.

The station itself was an unusually tall and wide structure located in the center of a large strip of undeveloped land stretching out five meters all around the building. The building was made of highly reflective metals, making its surface shine brilliantly in areas that had not been hit by rockets or biotic blasts.

Raria turned and faced Allyna, who was directly behind the Medic, and reported, "Multiple heavy hostiles advancing on the station Captain. If we're gonna move, we need to do it now."

Allyna nodded, signaled for Yayax Squad to dash over to the other side of the intersection, and as soon as they were in position, the Commandos attacked.

Allyna and Lt. Muora threw up a biotic bubble across the length of the intersection providing their troops with cover. Meanwhile, the others formed a firing line and engaged the enemy. The snipers in the group got flat on the ground and delivered killshot after killshot. Those armed with assault rifles such as Raria and Leria knelt down and provided suppressive fire when they couldn't hit a target. Those armed with short range weapons such as Elzia attacked with biotics.

Dozens of pirates were killed within seconds. Those not obliterated by biotic energy or ripped to shreds by the torrent of fire were forced to pull back to the other side of the walkway while now under fire from two sides. Some stayed behind and tried to breach the biotic bubble of the Eclipse troops as the began to advance toward the spire, but the strength of the barrier was too great and any pirates who didn't retreat were gunned down.

As the Commandos reached the front entrance Raria and Corra went in first looking for any wounded to help treat, followed by the snipers and support sunners. Allyna and Jenila went in last after positioning Leria and two others from Yayax to cover them.

The front lobby of the station was fairly well spread out, with the remains of several long tables, couches, and chairs set up a few meters behind the doors as cover. The reception desk, though having several bullet holes in it, still seemed to be holding together rather well as there were still two local police officers dressed in jet black uniforms behind it who seemed to be unharmed. A few dozen militia dressed in dark brown uniforms were spread out over the floor. Some were unharmed while some had varying degrees of injuries. Several more were on the floor either too injured to fight or dead.

Raria knelt down next to one such soldier who had been hit in the abdomen and was lying in a pool of blood. The fallen asari had a light blue shade of skin and no facial markings. A fellow militia member who had been hit in her right arm, a being of dark purple skin and black markings around her eyes, was applying pressure to the wound as best she could and muttering incoherently as Raria began to examine her fallen comrade.

The Eclipse Medic assumed they had some personal relationship based on the tears in the eyes of the one who was trying to help her fellow militia member, which made it all the worse when she had to look at the wounded soldier and report the news. After quickly checking the militia member for vitals Raria found she was gone. Looking up at the other, Raria could only give her a sympathetic look and shook her head. The other soldier began to cry even harder in response. Seeing there were other and more seriously injured troops who needed her help more, Raria left the grieving soldier and aided the others as best she could.

While she was doing this she heard Allyna talking to the commander of the militia. The locals had been defending this position with a Company about a hundred strong, alongside a couple dozen police. The pirates had now made two attempts at taking the tower, the first one where they attacked from all sides at once. The militia had managed to hold them off, but at great cost. Half of the defenders had by now been killed or injured, and they were unsure if the could hold out against another assault.

Just as Raria was finishing up Allyna nodded and 'suggested' to the other asari as she finished speaking, "Alright then. Look, we don't have long before they'll come back again, so you mind if me and my people hold the main entrances from here on out?"

The militia leader was shocked at the suggestion, "You think you can hold out with a dozen or so soldiers?"

Allyna nodded, "Leave a fire team at each main entrance if you feel inclined, but pull most of your people back to the North side of the building. Chances are you won't see too many hostiles there."

Turning back to Lt. Muora, Allyna continued, "Jenila, divide your team up and cover the East and West sides, I'll handle the South."

Allyna looked over at Cyessa and Arla next, "As for you two, head up a few floors and give these _ardats_ a display of what some _real_ shooting looks like."

Before the two snipers headed out Allyna made sure to say, "And Arla? You be ready to give us some _backup_ if they get too close. And don't hold back this time. Understand?"

Arla gave a determined nod, and she and Cyessa went over to a nearby staircase and were soon out of earshot. The militia and police soon pulled back as well, leaving only four very young looking asari armed with assault rifles with the four remaining members of Null Squad.

The soldiers quickly formed as good a barricade they could with the remains of the furniture and took cover behind it. Allyna and Elzia taking assault rifles from two fallen troops. The remaining locals themselves, Raria thoughts as she looked to her left behind the barricade, were holding together surprisingly well considering the situation. The four to Null Squad flank had looks of sheer determination on their faces, and though they seemed tired, none seemed close to breaking or giving in.

Raria was encouraged by that, and was a bit disappointed in herself when she realized that she had half expected the militia to be close to routing at this point.

 _People like you, people who have nothing left to lose, aren't the only ones who fight until the end Raria_.

Raria took a deep breath to ready herself, and looked up at the direction of the last enemy assault. The walkway was now littered with the dead and dying enemies caught in the ambush, and beyond the sky cars and busses was another large complex of towers. But to the right of those towers was another large walkway littered with fallen and crashed sky cars. It was from that walkway that the next assault had already begun to attack from.

About a hundred or so hostiles were once again advancing on the vid station. And true to their usual tactics, the invaders were simply charging down the walkway with little to no regard for cover or concealment. Some were smart enough to crouch behind something and fire at the station, but usually it was with no real attempt to actually hit anything or support the advance; instead just firing for the rush it provided.

The defenders all readied themselves, throwing up Barriers and beginning to pick out targets. As the pirates neared the station and came close to the cover in front of it, sniper fire from Cyessa and Arla began to pick them off. Arla firing clusters of rounds at densely packed ranks of enemies and killing or wounding several at once, Cyessa meanwhile carefully selecting targets with a heavy weapon or one who seemed to be an officer. With every shot the Krogan Asari fired, an enemy was sent into the next life.

As soon as the pirates were close enough, the Commandos on the ground floor opened fire. Several pirates still in the open were cut down instantly. The hostiles returned fire, and the barricade soon began to collapse as the Commandos and Militia were forced to crouch behind it.

Raria quickly popped up, lined up a shot at a Batarian who had just started to reload his rifle, and opened fire. He fell down, never to get back up. Raria shifted fire right slightly, taking out a human this time just as she starting to charge at the station. And then repeated this motion until needing to reload.

On and on it went. Null Squad and the militia doing their best to hold the enemy off, the pirates making several poorly coordinated assaults. Eventually though, the pirates grew closer and closer as their numbers grew. Eventually, when they had enough people behind cover, the enemy all rushed forward. The defenders opened up with everything they had, from automatic weapons fire to biotic blasts, but it wasn't enough. The enemy simply did not stop.

Raria loaded a fresh clip into her rifle, zeroed in on an asari in dark blue armor armed with a sub machine gun who was charging towards the Commando and firing wildly with a look of fury on her face, and emptied her entire clip into the attacker. It failed to do any damage. Whether due to her armor being that strong, a Barrier she had thrown up, the effects of narcotics pirates were notorious for using, or something else, the pirate was now nearly at the building and firing wildly at the defenders.

Raria quickly reloaded and again emptied a full clip into the hostile, who finally went down just as she crossed into the building, though not before scoring several direct hits on Raria.

The Medic hit the floor as three rounds slammed into her. The first two being absorbed by her Barrier, and the final hitting her square in the chest. Raria noticed Leria was next to her in an instant and was checking her over. As the Medic examined herself, she saw the round had been deflected by her suit.

Raria smiled despite the situation. _And who says armor is useless?_

Still, the situation had not improved for the defenders. Allyna and Elzia had discarded their rifles in favor of their usual weapons. Allyna with her Acolyte pistol, and Elzia with Locust SMG. The pair had used several Heavy Biotic Blasts against the enemy, and while it had been effective, it was taking it's toll on them.

Allyna was powerful enough so she could withstand the taxing effect several bursts of biotic energy had, but Elzia, who had never been a strong biotic, could not. As she blasted away another squad of hostiles Raria saw the Infiltrator's left hand cramp up, and the Sergeant looked as if she might collapse and vomit at any moment.

The Medic dashed over as quickly as she could, set Elzia up against the sturdiest piece of cover left, and began to examine her. Elzia's skin was cold, yet she seemed to be sweating heavily and her skin was quickly turning an unnatural shade of light green.

Raria opened her friend's canteen and made her drink as she looked over at the others. The militia were still holding their own, as were Leria and Allyna, but the Medic knew things were dire.

As if sensing what Raria was thinking Allyna shouted into her omni tool after she fired off yet another Biotic Blast, "Backup, NOW!"

An instant later, all Raria's fears dissipated as what felt like a miniature seismic event rocket the building. A few moments later Raria heard screams of terror and calls for retreat.

As she looked up over the shattered remains of the barricade, Raria saw the form of Lt. Arla Selemi, standing in front of the building with her Warp Sword drawn, body in a defensive stance, Barrier up, and face toward the pirates that were still brave (or stupid) enough to try and take the station. The majority of the attackers, all of whom were Asari, were now in full retreat. Some had stayed behind with the Batarian or Human contingents, but they still had looks of sheer horror on their face as they began to attack Arla.

Though she knew these were horrible, Evil _ardats_ who deserved to be sent into the Abyss for what they were trying to do here, Raria couldn't help but feel sorry for them as Arla began her attack.

There were several dozen pirates were spread all around Arla in a semicircle. As soon as they all raised their weapons, Arla bolted to her right in a Biotic Dash, raised her Warp Sword above her head, and slashed across her body as she decapitated four hostiles in an instant.

Turning to her left, Arla charged forward and gracefully twirled her body and blade around her opponents, severing limbs from bodies and cutting other beings in half with her dark purple Sword. The pirates tried to hit her, but Arla moved at such speed all they ever saw was flashes of light, and their rounds never came close to hitting their mark.

After Arla cleared the first half of the remaining pirates, she tossed her Warp Sword as if it were a discus toward the midsections of the column of hostiles that still remained. Using her momentum and biotics, the tall pale blue asari leapt through the air many meters above the pirates. Bullets bounced harmlessly off Arla's Barrier as she drew their fire, distracting them even as her Warp Sword cut them in half.

As Arla landed next to the half dozen remaining enemies, she biotically pulled her weapon toward her and moved on the last of the pirates.

A Batarian charged at her with his rifle high in the air, and Arla slashed at his chest severing him in two. Three Humans tried to surround her, but Arla moved first right severing the hostiles arms, dashed towards her left and slashing across the chest of the second human in the center before stabbing the third in his torso. The fifth hostile was another asari who was directly in front of Arla.

The pirate brought up her rifle and unloaded a full clip at Arla as she advanced, but the Eclipse Commando simply held up a biotic shield as she dashed towards her target. The pirate tossed aside her rifle and drew an Acolyte pistol, but before she could use it Arla severed first her hand, and then her head from her shoulders as she twirled around one more time.

Turning to the last hostile, who was also an asari, all Arla had to do was begin to walk toward her before she threw down her weapon and ran back the way she came. As the last enemy ran away, Arla quickly powered down her Warp Sword and began to walk back toward the station.

Raria had witnesses all of it. It had happened so quickly that she would have missed most of it had she turned her attention back to Elzia for even an instant.

Turning back to her friend, the Medic took a brown bag from her pouch that contained emergency rations rich in calories and element zero to help with Elzia's fatigue.

As she opened the bag and brought it up to Elzia, Raria was saddened and a bit scared to see Elzia's look was if anything getting worse, and the Infiltrator seemed barely able to move her arms and her hands seemed to be seizing up as she took some of the yellow colored cubes out of the bag and ate them with great difficulty. As Elzia tried once again to lift her canteen she nearly dropped it, and Raria had to help her drink.

Raria continued to help Elzia until she felt a tap on her left shoulder. Turning, the Medic saw Allyna, who had a clearly distressed look on her face. After making sure Elzia wasn't suffering from any previously unknown injuries, the Captain took the Medic aside and asked how Elzia was doing.

Raria sighed and answered in a low voice, "She's _extremely_ fatigued ma'am. In a day or two with proper food and rest she'll be fine, but no chance she'll be able to continue on. We better move her before they make another push."

Allyna gave her a nod but couldn't help but ask in a slightly upbeat tone, "You honestly believe they'll try to attack us again now that they think a Justicar is with us?"

Raria shrugged as the two went back to take Elzia somewhere relatively safe, "You know me Ally: expect and plan for the worst, that way if anything unforeseen happens you're pleasantly surprised."

The Commandos quickly moved their comrade out of harm's way, Arla taking up Elzia's position, and waited for either new orders, reinforcements, or a new enemy attack to arrive.


	12. Serdica: Forward!

**A/N:** A shorter chapter then what I've been posting lately, and for that I'm sorry. But it's been a while since I updated and the ending here seemed like a good stopping point before this got too long to quickly edit. Please let me know what you think!

 **Definitions:**

 _Adate_ : People/persons.

 _Ad'ika_ : Kid, lad, boy, sweetie, darling, son, daughter, child, etc.

 _Buir_ : Mother/father. Literally: "Parent."

 _Di'kut_ : Context dependent. Can mean fool, idiot, useless individual, etc.

 _Osik_ : Dung (impolite).

 _Su cuy'gar_ : "Hello." Literally: "So you're still alive."

 _Vor entye_ : Thank you. Literally: "I accept a debt."

* * *

 _"Breaking news! Asari Republic forces have just entered the Bithynia System in an effort to push back the pirates that invaded Hercynia just a few days ago. Heavy fighting has been reported by our affiliate station in the Republic of Serdica. We here at Illium Entertainment would like to send our best wishes to those fighting on behalf of the Republics to defend our people against the invading hoards. Go get 'em girls!"_

\- Illium Entertainment news bulletin.

* * *

 **Nos Astra, Illium. 2210 Local Time.**

Matriarch Aethyta sighed and shook her head as she looked out at Eternity. It had been a fairly busy night for the establishment, and that had done a good job of keeping Aethyta's mind off of the news of the galaxy's latest war. And from the way she had noticed her employees behave, the Matriarch believed her dancers had done their best to let their work distract them as well.

Still, the fact was that the news was impossible to miss. It had been the topic of conversation between nearly every patron that had entered the bar, and was all any of the girls talked about as they walked into work earlier. It did not help matters that the vid screens that were now installed at various intervals along the walls were tuned in on news channels that were playing the same footage over and over again, and the few times a customer requested a change of station they were quickly out voted by the other patrons who were interested in any update on the state of the war.

Aethyta had no choice but to comply. Didn't mean she liked it.

 _Figures the day before we finally get a permit for vid screens is the day those goddess damned slavers decide to launch another invasion_.

The Matriarch sighed again, straightened out her dark brown robe after stepping back from the counter, and started to close down. Her last customer had left a half hour ago, and it was now past closing. All around the bar, eight asari dancers sat two or three in a booth next to a vid screen. Their eyes glued to the feed, just as desperate for information as the patrons from earlier.

Aethyta could only shake her head at the lot of them. They were all so...so...she didn't have words to describe them without somehow insulting them. Young? Sure, they were that. She didn't have a dancer working for her that was older than one hundred eighty. But counter to what most Matriarchs believed, Aethyta knew that youth did not equal anything negative. Nieve? No, that wasn't the right word either. All of her girls were well aware of how Dark and depressing the galaxy could be.

Aethyta thought long and hard how best to describe the behavior of her people as she finished up her work. She knew she shouldn't hold their amazement at the current conflict against them. Goddess knows when she was their age she was fascinated by conflict, though that was under _tremendously_ different circumstances, and for entirely different reasons, and with a completely different mindset about war and conflict if she were to be totally honest.

Still, for all her experience and knowledge, Aethyta just couldn't fathom how these people could be so interested in what was happening. She hadn't understood why most of those here had cared about what had happened fifteen years ago either. Yes, these things were horrible. Yes, people were dying. Yes, she wished it wasn't happening and wanted nothing more than for it to end as soon as possible and with as few losses for everyone involved.

And yet...she was also simply sickened at the attitude presented by the people she had seen the last few days. The sheer shock and horror. The disbelief that not only were these things were happening, but that they were happening to her people. To the Asari. To a species that lacked for nearly any martial skill. It seemed as if the entire galaxy was ending just because of _one_ invasion that, as Aethyta recalled, was so far nowhere near as bloody as the last time this happened.

Aethyta always wondered what most beings did when there _wasn't_ a war on that directly concerned their interests that made them forget what the universe was really like. Made them think that they could just live in peace and harmony with the rest of the galaxy. A galaxy that had proven time and time again that it was harsh, unforgiving, and indifferent at best to the lives of it's inhabitants.

War is, always has been, and always will be a simple fact of life. It was, in Aethyta's view at least, simple idiocy to ever think that there would ever be Peace. It was a dream. An illusion. Something that could never be made real no matter how hard those who wanted it to be worked to achieve it.

This was why after the Matriarch finished cleaning up behind the bar she calmly walked out from behind the counter and up to the booths where her dancers were sitting, took a deep breath, and said in a loud and seemingly bored voice, "Alright _adate_ , it's closing time. So unless you plan on sleeping in the locker room or on the floor, you can't stay here."

Some of her girls seemed hesitant to go and Aethyta assured them in a voice that was surprisingly soft given the authority it carried, "Don't worry, I'm sure you won't miss anything in the time it takes you to go from here to wherever it is you're passing out tonight that won't be replayed five thousand more times in the next few days.

"Now go on, get out of here. Go fuck your boyfriends, girlfriends, or hanar lovers. Say hi to your _buirs_ , tell them you love them. Write a book or a song, go see a vid, or maybe just go home and get a good night's rest. Do Anything out there _adate_. Just don't spend all your time worrying about a war none of you will ever likely see. Doesn't do any of you any good."

Most of her dancers took her advice and got up from their seats, shut down the monitors, and went back into the locker room. All except two dancers in a booth near the entrance. Looking over, Aethyta saw Alaya and Lea sitting across from each other still staring at the monitor.

Shaking her head, the Matriarch went over to the booth and saw Alaya seemed to be doing her best to get Lea out of her seat, but to no avail. The voluptuous dancer still had her eyes glued to the screen, and it wouldn't surprise Aethyta if Lea had completely ignored her little speech. Sitting down next to Alaya, Aethyta listened as her best dancer urged Lea to leave.

Alaya spoke, "Come on Lea, do you really want to spend your whole night here curled up watching the same shit over and over?"

Lea looked over at Aethyta and Alaya and asked in a soft voice, "Is it really always like this Aethyta? Wars breaking out with no warning and no telling when it will end, or when the next one will crop up?"

Aethyta sighed. Lea was by far her youngest employee, meaning she was also the most inclined to believe all that _osik_ they taught in schools how the universe was some great, single whole or living being or whatever. That, while there were the occasional rough spots, most places most of the time were good places to live in with good people, and that there was really nothing to worry about as long as you were smart and trusted those around you. Aethyta always hated having to correct people who thought like this, especially when they were as sweet and sensitive as Lea.

Aethyta took a deep breath and explained in the most compassionate voice she could, "No _ad'ika_ , usually it's a lot worse."

Lea's mood wasn't improved at the news, so Aethyta changed tactics and began in a reassuring tone, " _But_ , I can also honestly say that it gets better after a while. Let me tell you a story: When I was your age, there were more wars going on then I could count. Pirates were raiding all along the border, and there were still hold outs from the Rebellions causing chaos for everyone. Ideologues ran the Turian and Salarian governments and were leading massive campaigns against them, and the Matriarchy was even less competent at dealing with problems if you can believe that. Those...were very dangerous times. Very _dark_ times. Fortunately, things have calmed down since then.

"The Rebels were put down, the pirates and slavers beaten back, and some semblance of Order was restored. Things have been more or less peaceful since then. Sure, the occasional war breaks out, but those all end eventually. And as for these bastards in the Traverse; don't worry, all this will blow over. Soon those slavers will get wiped out, and then all this will be forgotten, just like the wars from when I was young."

Lea actually looked a bit relieved at that, "You really think so?"

Aethyta gave the voluptuous dancer an encouraging look and said in a confident voice that hid her true feelings well, "I _know_ so Lea."

 _And then no one will learn a thing from all this death, and a decade or two later some new group will just do the same damn thing. Just like they always have._

Still, Lea took Aethyta's words in the best way she could have, and gradually got up from her seat.

As the Matriarch and Alaya got up from theirs Aethyta asked the dancer in a soft voice after Lea was out of earshot, "Look, I uh...I know it's kind of a lot to ask, but could you maybe look after her tonight and make sure she doesn't get too wrapped up in this? I don't want her to burn herself out over some minor skirmish when she just got over...um...well, you know."

Aethyta added quickly as Alaya thought the request over, "And I know that might be asking a lot on such short notice, and if not then that's fine; I can-"

Alaya interrupted her with a smirk on her face and reassured her boss and friend, "Don't worry _Aeth'buir_ , I'll make sure she eats all her vegetables and goes to bed at a decent time. You just make sure to have something more positive playing tomorrow night. Don't much like the idea of watching the same old footage night after night either."

Aethyta gave her friend a smile, "Sure thing _ad'ika_ , and _vor entye_."

Alaya simply smiled and nodded before heading off, and soon Aethyta was on her way home.

* * *

When the Matriarch entered her apartment, she immediately went to her kitchen (which now only had half of it's sink filled with dirty dishes), pulled out a container filled with some type of pasta dish that looked like it was probably still edible, and headed into her bedroom to check her extranet account.

Across from Aethyta's bed was a small desk that had an extranet monitor atop it. Sitting down and placing her dinner off to the side, Aethyta booted up her monitor to find she had received a message from her daughter Derra. The Matriarch ate as she read the text:

Su cuy'gar Buir,

 _I hope all is well with you, and that you can forgive our lack of correspondence lately. As I'm sure you can imagine, work has kept me very busy with all the Spacial Anomalies noticed recently. How are things going with you? I hope you have finally moved out of that shitty apartment and found some place decent to live._

 _Still, this isn't just to say hi. This is...well...I um...I have to tell you something_ Buir _. Something that I don't think you will be mad at me for keeping from you but...you always were one to hate secrets._

 _There's...there's someone in my life. Someone who I've been seeing for a while. A long while actually. It's serious now_ Buir _. We um...we're looking at getting Bonded. And hold on! Before you start writing a scathing response and rant at me for keeping this from you, at least hear me out._

 _This whole thing started out as just two friends having fun. Then it became more than that. Somewhere along the way we just...connected. And it wasn't an overnight thing either; this has been going on for years now. I know that might make it worse but...well, you get the idea. Didn't seem right to tell you I had a crush on the friend I'd been fucking for a while when it could all just end the next day._

 _Also, my lover and I...have not gotten the best reception from the community here. And I thought Sanves was supposed to be a fairly tolerant planet. Anyway, I know you're not like most of the_ di'kuts _here, but between how people have taken to us and how her mother reacted to the news her daughter was looking at Bonding to another asari...it just seemed like the best idea not to tell anyone else, even if they probably wouldn't care._

 _Anyway, all that's over now. We um...we would like you to visit, if you could spare the time. We would go to see you, but neither of us can really get away from work for very long, and something tells me you're still in that shitty apartment not fit for a varren to live in, and I'd rather not spend a month's salary on one of the few halfway decent hotels in Nos Astra anyway. I hope you understand. Hope you are not too mad, and that you will come to see us soon._

 _Your sincerely,_

 _Derra._

Aethyta was simply stunned. No, she was more then stunned. She was shocked so badly the Matriarch had nearly choked on her food and re read the message three times before trying to formulate any kind of response. She simply had no idea how to handle this.

It was not that she wasn't happy for Derra. She was, but to not only be told that her daughter was in a relationship but also that she was thinking of settling down in the same message with no warning or buildup was almost too much for the Matriarch to handle.

Still, the more Aethyta thought about it, the more happy she was. She wished Derra had shared maybe a bit more information first of course, but Derra was a fully grown adult and had no reason to tell her _buir_ about her love life if she didn't want to. After cleaning up her spilled food, the Matriarch composed herself enough to write a response:

Der'ika,

 _Words can't describe how happy for you I am for you! Congratulations on finding someone you think is worth Bonding with. I hope this all works out for you two. I'm not angry, so don't worry. Surprised yes, but never angry._

 _As soon as I'm finished typing this, I'm going to get tickets to the next shuttle to Etheai. I'll send you the details once that's done. I can't wait to meet this mysterious stranger. And don't worry, I won't screw with her_ too badly _._

 _Also, would you get off me about my apartment!? If you think where I live now is bad, you should have seen where I was living when I was your age. Goddess, the apartments in Niacal back then…_

 _Anyway, looking forward to seeing you again. Take care._

Aethyta quickly sent the message, booked tickets for the next shuttle to Sanves, and went to bed happier than she could remember being in a very long time.

* * *

 **Republic of Serdica, planet Hercynia. 1323 Local Time.**

Corporal Raria Tesaya, along with the other twelve remaining combat effective Eclipse Commandos, advanced down the walkway Southward toward to the spaceport. It had been a couple hours since the Commandos had held off the pirates at the vid station. In that time the main body of the ground force had deployed, formed up, and began to advance South through the City State's walkways towards the enemy's stronghold.

Major Camas had ordered over the comm link after all the ground troops had deployed that once the reinforcements relieved the Commandos that the Eclipse troops were to support the advance to the best of their ability and regroup once the enemy had been pushed out of the City-State proper.

A column of several hundred asari dressed in various types of light armor and skin tight outfits was now advancing through the City-State. Just over a dozen APCs were supporting the advance and were spread throughout the column. The vehicles were old, bought by one of the mercenary companies that had been folded into Third Battalion at a discount from the Turians. The APCs were dark grey colored, had tires that had no protection whatsoever, a single machine gun turret on top for armaments, and their main layer of armor consisted of two metal slabs the asari had welded onto their sides after they acquired them.

Raria was honestly glad she and her fellow Commandos weren't riding in one of them, as they were simply a deathtrap the Medic felt.

Four such screaming metal deathtraps were ahead of where the Eclipse soldiers were, along with a full platoon of about forty very tired and scared looking asari armed with various short range weapons dressed in dark green bodysuits. The Commandos were next just in front of another platoon from the same unit, followed by even more APCs. The majority of the Battalion was heading down this walkway, as it was one of the few roads that lead to the spaceport.

The troops so far had encountered little resistance, the enemy usually hastily retreating when the Republican forces saw them. Most simply ran and didn't even attempt to form anything close to an orderly withdrawal. Still, the soldiers kept a sharp eye out for enemy activity.

The streets were still deserted, though by now the troops had encountered several areas filled with dead from both sides in areas where the locals had attempted to halt the enemy's advance. More than a few sky cars had been used as cover, or lined up to form a makeshift barricade, only to be blasted to bits. The defenders obliterated or left so badly damaged they couldn't be identified. Every few hundred meters there would be another such pile of remains. The buildings around which had holes blown in them from rockets or biotic blasts, and most structures nearby were riddled with bullet holes.

After passing one such area Raria looked ahead as the APCs began to turn a corner on the walkway, and the lead vehicle was instantly hit with a rocket blast. The three APCs in the back immediately halted, as did the infantry next to them. The lead vehicle however continued to advance at an alarming speed until it rashed into a nearby building, smoke bellowing out from it's interior.

The infantry squad that had supported the transport came under fire moments later. Most never even managed to get their barriers up before being riddled with enemy fire. A few had their heads shot off while others had their chests shredded. A few lucky ones managed to survive and were crying out on the ground for help.

The Eclipse Commandos rushed forward. Most put up a biotic shield across the street as the Commandos turned the corner while Raria and Corra attended to the three surviving soldiers. The asari Raria knelt down next to had several rounds in her left arm and upper chest, but she would live. The Medic did the best she could for her, and moved on to another, who sadly was already too far gone to help.

Turning to Corra, Raria saw the one she was helping might survive as well, and the medics signaled for some of the mercenaries from the Third Battalion to evac their wounded.

Once the survivors had been tended to, the medics turned their attention towards the enemy. The walkway they had just turned on to was only a few hundred meters long before turning another corner. Directly ahead of them was a large sky car dealership the pirates had holed up in, and had several machine gun implements in place atop the vehicles. There were no crashed sky cars or other such vehicles that could easily be used as cover, and the area the troops were entering now seemed to be a commercial district. Most of the buildings seemed to be shops or restaurants of some sort, and many seemed to be physically connected.

Captain T'Nira ordered the Eclipse soldiers to head into the building the APC crashed in, and the group quickly entered through the gaping hole in the front of the store, under heavy fire all the way.

Upon entering, Raria saw this was a clothing store that was well stocked and offered a fairly expansive set of options, offering just about everything from form fitting suits to light battle armor. Looking back at the APC, Raria saw Arla had used her Warp Sword to cut a sizeable hole in it, entered to check on the crew, and exited shaking her head. Raria was saddened at the news, but kept her focus as Allyna ordered the group to press onward through the buildings.

Raria took point, and soon the Commandos had cleared the clothing department and were heading through a food court. As they advanced the Eclipse soldiers could see through the windows the exchange of gunfire between the pirates and other Republic forces. Biotics and machine gun fire, mixed with the occasional rocket blast, kept the other mercenaries from being able to advance.

Eventually, the Commandos came to a dead end. With no emergency exits nearby, the only nearby door leading out onto the street, and a biotic blast or a demo charge being a sure way of giving away their position, Arla drew her Warp Sword and cut a hole in the side.

After exiting the building into a large alley between buildings, the squads stacked up against the side of the building, Raria in the lead, and proceeded onward through a back alley. Eventually they came to the back of the building that was adjacent to the dealership. The dealership itself was on the beginning section of the walkway after it curved, and the building the Commandos were behind was on the end of the straight section of pavement. There was a curved area which served as a 'corner' of sorts, which provided a limited line of sight on the dealership.

A large selection of sky cars were placed out front of the building, with a couple dozen heavily armed pirates taking cover behind them and still firing at the Republican forces. Inside, Raria could make out at least a half dozen or so others.

The Commandos quickly advanced from one end of the corner to the other as soon as the enemy began a fresh barrage, and soon were behind the dealership. After forming up by Squad, the Commandos had their demolition experts set charges and blasted their way into the building.

Raria threw up a Barrier and stormed into through the breach, the four remaining members of her Squad following behind. Yayax Squad did the same a few meters away. The interior was pristine white and very spacious, with a half dozen new sky car models on display. At either side of the room were small offices, and a few tables lay in between the now destroyed wall the Commandos entered from and the sky cars. Beyond the cars was a hallway leading to the front of the dealership.

After eliminating the few hostiles in they encountered in the back, the Eclipse troops pressed forward. After advancing through and clearing out the rest of the building, the Commandos exited through the front door.

The pirates (almost all of whom were asari) had their backs to the dealership and were caught off guard as the Eclipse troops opened up on them. Most of the hostiles were killed in the first few seconds. The few who were left attempted to return fire, but the Commandos had deployed a biotic bubble around themselves which deflected any and all enemy attacks against it.

After the last of the pirates had been dispatched, the Commandos radioed to the other Republican forces the road was clear, and in a few moments the convoy was again on the march toward their objective.


	13. Serdica: Endgame

**A/N** : Again, apologies for how late this is. "The Division" is actually pretty fun I think, even if the story barely qualifies as even half-assed. And of course no idea when the next update will be.

Still, here's the next chapter. Please let me know what you think!

 **Definitions:**

APC: Armored Personnel Carrier

Medevac: Medical Evacuation

* * *

 _"You know, I often wonder just what a lot of Maidens think they're getting into when they join a mercenary unit. I mean, sure, more often then not your band doesn't even see combat, and most of the time you just sit around all day doing Fuck All. But at the same time, the piss poor quality of a lot of the soldiers I've seen really just astounds me. Even if you've never been in a firefight, you're supposed to be a Professional who can actually handle your responsibilities, not just making shit up as you go and hoping it all just turns out for the best!_

 _"And that's not just talking about the new recruits or low level people either. Squad and Platoon commanders half the time have no idea what they're doing, or how to manage their people properly, and Captains almost always let their people do whatever the Hell they want. And the most sickening thing? A lot of these so called 'Commanders' are graduates of Commandos courses just like the ones I went through. Was the training really so half-assed back then and I'm just not remembering it correctly? Or have the standards slipped so low that any moron, no matter how lazy or stupid, can get through training now?_

 _"No wonder so many young Maidens think being a Mercenary is a fun and easy job when so many of us just sit around, collect a paycheck, and go spend it all on alcohol and narcotics. And the worst part of it all? Seeing the horrified, fear filled faces of those same children if and when they finally do see some real fighting._

 _"It's almost enough to make me want to just say 'fuck it all', go get some boring office job, and maybe settle down with some Turian or Krogan I can tolerate and swap war stories while we bring up the next generation of soldiers. Almost._

 _"So why do I stay? Part of it's because I honestly don't know how to do anything else. Partly because I don't really_ want _to do anything else. But mostly? Mostly I stay for those children who ran away from home to play war for a few decades before eventually getting bored and finding something better to do with their time who realized they got too far out at sea to be able to swim back to the shore. I just can't abandon people who I feel need my help. Does that make sense?"_

\- Captain Allyna T'Nira explaining her thoughts and feelings to her friend and fellow Commando, Raria Tesaya, when asked why she has remained a mercenary after more then three centuries.

* * *

Atop a parking garage in the Northeast corner of Serdica, Major Irri Camas stared at the holographic display before her showing the current state of the battle. All around the Major the twelve Commandos of Epsilon Squad were taking cover behind the parked sky cars atop the complex keeping watch for enemy shuttles. The Eclipse troops were near the doorway that lead into the building in case they needed to quickly take cover inside.

Irri herself was kneeling down next to a small table like device that was nearly as long as the Major was tall, had stand underneath it for support, was light grey in color, and had a series of controls that allowed for Irri to manipulate her view and zoom in on specific firefights or zoom out and examine the entire battlespace. It was equipped with a comm-link capable of connecting with her Company or Battalion Commanders, as well as any ships in orbit. It also had a VI program that called out events it deemed important by it's runtimes. Irri's forces were displayed as blue figures while the hostiles were shown in red.

Overall, Irri felt the battle was proceeding well. The majority of her forces had been able to deploy without incident and had begun their counter attack as soon as could be expected considering she was dealing with a force thrown together haphazardly from a dozen different locations and was entirely out of it's element fighting a large scale offensive. The troops had advanced quickly threw the City-State and had encountered minimal resistance, though a few groups of hostiles did give the Republican forces a small amount of trouble here and there.

Still, as it stood the majority of the Republic was now back under control of the control of the locals, and the enemy now seemed to be in full retreat toward the spaceport. Many were not even bothering to try and bring their heavier equipment with them, instead abandoning their weapons at the first sight of combat. The Major didn't find that particularly surprising considering the invaders had already suffered significant losses and were if anything an even less competent a fighting force than those the Republics fielded, only having enjoyed as much success as they had due to overwhelming numbers.

Irri's own Eclipse forces were taking few, if any, losses so far. The Major had just checked in with her Commandos and none had been killed, though one had been removed from the fighting. Her infantry units had not reported any significant losses, as apparently the weapons the pirates were using were of such low caliber that they couldn't penetrate the Eclipse's armor suits.

Irri was glad to hear that.

 _Nice to know all the money_ not _spent on getting us the ships we could have used to get us here is at least being put toward decent armor._

Just as Irri was about to issue a new set of orders to her troops her VI told her in a loud and feminine voice, " _Incoming message from one: Admiral Vau."_

Irri hit a few buttons on her control panel, and soon the battle map disappeared and in it's place a miniature version of Admiral Vau was displayed. The Admiral stood straight as a board with her arms folded under her chest and had a slight scowl on her face as she greeted, "Major Camas."

Irri straightened as best as she could, nodded, and asked in a polite and respectful tone, "Admiral. Expecting an update?"

Vau shook her head and reported, "Negative, though I do have one for you. About thirty minutes ago my fleet obliterated a new wave of hostile warships as they entered the system, many of which were too large and too poorly armed to be anything other than troop transports. I think it's safe to say we successfully broke the enemy's next wave, and hopefully we'll be free of any further attempts of the enemy reinforcing their position."

Vau went on, "In any case, I am about to try and make contact with the pirates. Once they hear their fleet has been lost I'm hoping they will do the smart thing and surrender. If they're smart they'll see it's pointless to resist at this point."

Irri nodded, "Understood ma'am. And if they don't?"

Vau ordered, "Then your mission remains the same. Do what you can to minimize damage to the City-State, but do what you have to in order to end this. I'll inform you of what they decide, but don't count on them to take the easy way out."

With that, the Admiral was gone, and the map of the City-State returned showing Irri's forces had made even further gains.

After looking over the map for a few moments and studying the areas around the spaceport, Irri devised a tentative plan on how to quickly end this battle. After sending out orders for her forces to halt along a series of roadways near the front of the spaceport, Irri also designated a waypoint for her subordinates to meet her at to go over the details for the last portion of the offensive.

After receiving verification her instructions had been understood, the Major called for a shuttle to pick her and the other Eclipse troops up, collected her display, and headed deeper into the Republic.

* * *

Captain Allyna T'Nira looked around at her team and the members of Yayax Squad to make sure none had any previously unknown injuries and were all hydrating before turning around and heading off to meet with Major Camas.

The area the Third Battalion had stopped in was on the edge of a small park, complete with a series of playgrounds for children, a jogging path, and a small pond. Many of the soldiers had gone into the park and taken the opportunity to enjoy a few moments to themselves. Some were lying on the grass or up against a tree and had fallen asleep. Some had sat down beside the pond and stared blankly at the water. Some even were walking in and around the playground area, most likely thinking about more innocent times in their past.

The Eclipse troops themselves had gone over and sat down under a gazebo to try and rest while they could before heading out again. Though the fighting had not been too taxing, the Commandos had now been in the field several hours and in multiple firefights. Even with no other injuries and being well rested at the start of the battle the Eclipse members were starting to run out of energy.

It was not that they were not still combat effective or that they were not capable of continuing, merely that several hours of maintaining barriers, walking for several kilometers in full armor and combat packs, and the occasional firefight had a taxing effect. The asari's high metabolism meant they could recover quickly, but still required periods of rest to be in top condition again.

As Allyna headed back into the City-State, she took a small detour to go where an asari with dark blue skin, white facial markings along her eyes and cheekbones, and was wearing a suit of light green armor was lying against a tree and had apparently fallen asleep. Allyna was fairly certain she was the commander of the other troops who had also lost consciousness in the park.

Allyna knelt down and shoved the other asari as hard as she could without biotics. One the other mercenary had woken up and looked toward Allyna the Eclipse Captain said in an annoyed voice, "Keep your people awake. This is still a war zone and we could get the order to re-engage at any time."

The other mercenary had a dazed look on her face as she nodded and tried to stand up. Allyna just shook her head in disgust as she got back up and headed toward her destination, soon re entering the maze of spires that comprised the settlement. The district of the City-State the Battalion was in now had seen the heaviest fighting when the invasion started. Most of the buildings had some type of damage, with many having entire sections destroyed by heavy weapons and biotic blasts. Bullets holes riddles several of the buildings, and the ground was littered with shell casings.

Still, Allyna had seen far worse in her time as a soldier. So the Captain paid none of it any mind as she walked over to an APC, ordered the half asleep driver to take her to the waypoint, and did her best not to reprimand the young looking asari as she nearly ran into several parked sky cars on their way. The area of the Republic the waypoint was set in was a small pub that was in the near the edge of a commercial district near a series of apartment complexes.

The building was a large rectangular structure and had a large parking lot surrounding it that was deserted save for the half dozen APCs in front of the building. As Allyna exited her ride she noticed Captain T'Mukan had also arrived and was about forty meters away exiting a sand colored sky car she no doubt had _tactically acquired_ from somewhere. The car had several bullet holes in the front windshield though, and seemed to have several purple bloodstains in the seats and on the lower portions of the craft.

Allyna jogged over to the other Captain and asked in a concerned voice, "Just where in the fuck did you get this thing? And _how_ did you get it?"

T'Mukan explained as the two headed toward the pub in a low voice, "I found it about half a klick from where our troops stopped advancing. Judging by all the bodies that were in and around it, I'm guessing some local volunteers flew too close to the ground got hit with rifle fire. They managed to crash right on top of an enemy fire team though, so I guess they at least ended up getting even. For whatever that's worth."

Allyna shook her head as the two entered the establishment. The pub was dimly lit, had several sections with booths along the outer edges and a mess of tables scattered about. A few vid monitors were turned on, but their screens were only showing static.

Off in a back corner Major Camas and several other officers from both Eclipse and the various other companies had gathered around a table. Irri had set her tactical display up on a table showing the Southern section of Serdica, including all the current positions of the Asari Republic's troops, as well as the spaceport. The spaceport itself was a large complex, with the main terminal building being several stories tall and dozens of landing pads in back of the structure.

As soon as Allyna and Elara joined the rest of the group Irri began the briefing. Irri spoke, "Alright people, listen up. We've had a relatively easy time of it so far, but sadly that might just be at an end if we don't handle this final push correctly. A few minutes ago, Admiral Vau sent the remaining hostiles an offer to surrender, which they promptly refused. Meaning we have to finish the job of evicting these scum from our world."

After hitting a few buttons on the machine, Irri zoomed in on the front of the spaceport and the buildings surrounding it. The walkway and parking spaces around the front entrance formed an almost 'U' type shape, and there were several dozen yards of walkway between the spaceport and the nearest structures. Meaning any type of frontal assault would almost certainly incur heavy losses for the Asari troops.

Irri began as she pointed to various points on the map, "The enemy is probably well dug in now, so just storming the building is not an option. Not without some assistance at least."

Turning to her Commando Captains Irri ordered as she pointed to two separate points at the main terminal building, "Captain T'Nira, Captain T'Mukan, you two will take the Commando Squads and assault the East and West entrances while the rest of our forces stage a diversion and keep most of their attention geared towards the front. Infiltrate the building, take out whatever defenses they have, and give us an opening. We'll charge in and take the building once that's done."

Allyna was skeptical of the plan. Most of the mercenaries here now were starting to lose their already limited effectiveness, and putting them into a prolonged firefight might be cause more losses then it was worth.

In a polite yet critical voice the Captain asked, "Are you committing the entire force to this Major? Because, no offense to those here, it seems to me this might be best suited to those who can still fight."

Irri gave her a look, "And exactly what do you mean by that Captain?"

Allyna explained, "A few minutes ago a whole company was passing out in a park near here, and that was after only a few short firefights and a few klicks worth of walking. Putting these people into a major engagement where they're just sitting around taking pot shots might not be the best idea."

Irri stared at the non Eclipse officers in the room. When none of them even bothered to defend themselves, instead just looking down and away from their new CO (and a few who were even dozing off while they stood and may have missed the briefing so far entirely Allyna noted) Allyna shook her head and shot her CO a look that showed her disgust at their level of capability.

After a few moments Irri sighed and relented, "Very well then. I'd hoped to commit a few of the larger units for this, but I suppose my people can handle this on our own. We were going to be doing most of the heavy lifting here anyway. Still, I trust your APCs can still shuttle my Commandos to their starting points?"

The mercenaries who commanded the units with APCs nodded, and Irri ended, "Well thenpeople, if there aren't any more questions or concerns, let's get this over with."

With that, the officers headed out to brief their respective units.

* * *

Corporal Raria Tesaya sat up against the corner of a spire on the edge of an intersection near the spaceport waiting for the order to go. The Medic had Leria sitting on her right finishing an energy bar while Cyessa was sitting directly across from the two lovers. The Sniper had her Tech Armor still active, her legs crossed in front of her, her hands folded in her lap, and seemed to be meditating.

Raria was sure the Sniper would tell them she was trying to psychically 'sense' what the enemy was thinking or some such nonsense. Honestly Raria didn't really mind Cyessa's insistence she was able to just 'feel' where hostiles were at times. That much she could believe, as she had felt things simply be wrong on a mission a time or two herself, and such feelings usually ended up being correct.

No, what the Medic had a problem with was the idea that you could just 'feel' where a hostile was just by _thinking_ about it. The Sniper even had the nerve to tell the others she could actually _hear what the enemy were thinking_ if she got close enough! And not only that, but that she could somehow just 'see' what the future had in store for the Squad if they went down a certain route.

That all annoyed Raria to no end. Leria, the superstitious fool, believed it and so did Allyna judging by the way she acted. But Raria? No. Raria refused to believe there was any way at all to perceive the future, or to somehow know what someone was thinking without directly melding with them. The very idea that such things could be true...it just didn't sit right with Raria.

 _There's just no way we could ever know the future. No way we can ever know what decision might be our last. No way to...no way to know what choice might get the ones you love killed._

Pushing such thoughts from her mind, the Medic looked beyond Cyessa to the large cluster of Commandos milling around the walkway. Arla was pacing back and forth, most likely with a scowl on her face Raria assumed. Arla only ever showed hostility to not only the enemy but her squadmates as well if she showed any emotion at all in a combat situation. She never meant anything by it and was always apologetic afterward if she was overly hostile; the former Justicar trainee just always let her darker emotions get the better of her in these situations.

Near the other end of the walkway close to the nearest spire, Allyna was talking with the leaders of the other Squads that had been assigned to assault the Eastern end of the spaceport. The Captain had told them when they had all assembled they would know when to begin and to relax until then. Allyna had not seemed to worried about the upcoming attack, but Raria couldn't help but feel nervous.

Raria always felt nervous right before an assault, far more so than for when the Squad was just defending a position or going on some random recon mission. She knew it was pointless, but she couldn't really help it, despite knowing she was in good company.

In all, there were exactly forty eight Commandos in six Squads in this section of the City State waiting for the assault to begin. Most were either sitting against a building huddled together with their squadmates or were taking a few moments for themselves a few meters away from the main group. None of the other Squads had taken any losses, and all seemed to be ready to end this fight.

The Commandos were behind a corner of an intersection a few dozen meters from the spaceport. The day had passed into the late afternoon, the local star now casting long shadows on the ground. The air was fairly warm, though fortunately not enough to be too uncomfortable in a suit of armor. The sky was cloudless, and the air was still as the first shots rang out snapping the Eclipse troops out of their own personal worlds and back into the fight.

In an instant the Commandos formed up by Squad and readied their weapons and biotics. Raria threw up a Barrier and peered around the corner. The Medic saw heavy fire being exchanged by the regular Eclipse infantry units and the pirates in the spaceport. Heavy weapons and biotics were fired from the Eclipse's position while heavy machine gun fire erupted from the pirates.

When she saw another fresh volley begin between the two groups, Raria signaled for the Commandos to advance, and all at once the Commandos charged. The biotic specialists threw up a massive bubble around the group while those armed with assault rifles and shorter ranged weapons kept their eyes trained on the building ready to return fire in the event they were detected.

Fortunately, the Commandos reached the side of the building without being fired upon, and as soon as they had all formed up by Squad, the Eclipse troops placed several demolitions charges on the sides of the building. The Commandos couldn't see inside and had no nearby doors to enter through, and there might have been enemies nearby waiting in ambush, so it was best to go in loud in this instance. As soon as large sections of the wall were blasted away the Commandos charged in, threw up another large biotic bubble around themselves, and began their attack.

The terminal building was like any other spaceport entrance. Long rows of terminals from which tickets were purchased, rotating machines where luggage collected, the occasional small shop or fast food chain offering refreshments, and a long stretch of walkway the pirates had fortified themselves behind.

From their position the Commandos could see the line of defenses the enemy has built out of benches, tables, and other random objects all along the front of the interior of the building. There were several machine gun implements, as well as the occasional sniper or heavy weapons specialist. The enemy seemed to have the entire first floor covered.

As soon as the Eclipse soldiers were inside, they immediately formed a firing line. Snipers crouching and picking out key targets, rifle armed asari firing at the clusters of hostiles, and those armed with smaller weapons using mainly their biotics while the most powerful kept their bubble in place.

The Commandos opened fire. Some of the pirates had noticed the Commandos and began firing at them just as the Eclipse forces attacked, but their weapons couldn't penetrate the biotic bubble while the Commandos easily obliterated dozens of hostiles in a matter of seconds.

Sniper fire took out the enemy machine gunners, snipers, and heavy weapons wielders. Biotic blasts and rifles fire obliterated most of the regular hostiles. Soon any hostiles still alive were falling back further into the building or to the upper level via a nearby set of escalators.

The Commandos advanced, a Squad being broken off at each hallway to clear it as the cluster slowly went toward the center of the complex. By the time the Eclipse troops reached the escalators it was down to Null and Yayax Squads. Raria again took the lead as the Eclipse troops advanced up the stairway and came to a baggage claim section also at the front of the building near a set of windows overlooking the parking area.

Several dozen hostiles were lined up at the windows, but only about half were attempting to form a firing line against the Commandos, the rest were still firing at the main Eclipse force outside, which by now had begun its attack.

The pirates concentrated their fire on the biotic bubble the Commandos threw up around themselves just in time, blasting the Eclipse forces with heavy weapons and machine gun fire. This in turn forced all Eclipse the troops to reinforce the bubble more and more as increasing amounts of ordnance was fired at it. For several long seconds the pirates fired on the bubble, and Raria soon began to feel the strain on her now dwindling energy reserves. It felt as if a dozen elcore were dancing on her mind the weight was so great.

Until that is the enemy were attacked from behind.

Raria looked beyond the pirates to see three full Squads of Commandos a few dozen meters away coming in from the other end of the complex unloading everything they had on the enemy. In a few moments the few hostiles not killed or injured were again fleeing deeper into the building.

After taking a few minutes to catch their breath the Nulls and Yayaxz thanked their comrades for their assist, and again branched off to help the regular troops secure the structure. The main Eclipse force had now entered the terminal building. The infantry had advanced under cover of a Shieldwall of biotic energy supported by heavy weapons and machine gun fire, and were now storming the complex.

Raria lead the Commandos down a hallway leading to a boarding area. Several restaurants, fast food chains, tea and kaffe stands and the like were on either sides of the soldiers as they advanced, and the Commandos had to slow down considerably to check their flanks and make sure they were not ambushed.

As they were about to clear the shops several squads of enemies emerged from cover near the boarding areas from behind walls, terminals, help desks, and wherever else they could hide behind. The enemy opened up with rifle fire and biotic blasts at the Commandos, one hitting the ground near Raria.

The Medic was flown back nearly two meters and was knocked on her stomach. The world around her was spinning as she tried to rise, and neither could she see straight as she pushed herself up and tried to take stock of the situation. In an instant though Leria was at her side, helped the Medic up, and the pair moved to where the rest of the Commandos had taken cover, which was in a decent sized sit down restaurant near the end of the shopping area.

As her senses came back to her, Raria examined the situation. Corra had been hit in her abdomen, and Cyessa had been hit in the leg. Both were set up on the wall across from Raria, which was also the wall facing in the direction of the enemy. Cyessa was still stable it seemed, but Corra was in a bad way. The rest of the Eclipse troops were unharmed, and had taken cover behind the dividers and firing at the enemy, though Leria had remained back and was examining the injured.

Her full faculties returning to her, Raria rushed over to Corra and removed her breastplate to treat her injury. It was bad, but if they could get her evacuated relatively soon she would live. Moving on to Cyessa, the Medic saw the Sniper had also been fortunate: another millimeter or two and an artery would have been severed. Patching up her friends as best she could, Raria punched a set of commands into her omni-tool calling for a medevac.

 _Just hope they get here soon and we don't have too many other wounded. An assault like this, so many places the enemy can hide…_

Having done what she could for the injured, Raria turned to re join the others. Leria put a massive hand on her shoulder before she could get up though, and started looking her lover over for injuries.

Raria said after a few moments, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Leria gave her a worried look, but still nodded, and the pair went over to kneel down just behind Allyna, who was throwing out biotic blasts as quickly as she could. Arla was on the Captain's left firing her Viper sniper rifle wildly at any cluster of hostiles who popped out of cover, and Yayax Squad was on their right providing what suppressive fire they could. As far as Raria could tell though, all this was doing was pinning the enemy down. The Commandos needed to make a move, and fast before they started to run out of ammo.

Allyna of course would have known this as well, which was most likely was after she and Arla crouched behind their cover again the Captain ordered, "Your time to shine Arla. Get in there and do what you do best."

Arla didn't like the orders. Though her scowl didn't change, Raria could see in the Lieutenant's eyes the anger she had over being forced to use her Warp Sword. Still, she didn't hesitate. Arla merely folded her sniper rifle, reinforced her Barrier, unclipped her Warp Sword, and jumped over the divider.

Taking a stance with her left foot forward, her right foot back, and turning her body to the right while still facing the enemy and her bladed end pointed toward them, Arla glowed nearly as bright as a star as she twisted her body, ignited her Sword's dark purple blade, and in an instant had teleported from one end of the hallway to another.

The pirates around where Arla had materialized never saw the Commando as she twirled around at near light speed severing them all in half. Arla then threw her Sword across the hallway to eliminate another two squads across the way while she sent a Shockwave rippling down towards a cluster of enemies near a help desk.

Once her Sword returned to her, Arla charged forward again to another group, who had frozen in sheer shock and fear of a being wielding a Warp Sword. Most only managed to raise their weapons a few centimeters before being stabbed or dismembered.

Once that was done Arla turned toward the last couple dozen enemies, who were hiding behind a section of seats near a boarding area. The pirates (all of whom were rather young looking asari in light armor suits) had already thrown down their weapons, placed their hands on their head, and were kneeling while facing the ground. Some were praying while others were begging for their lives with tears in their eyes.

Arla signaled for the others to come out once making sure she didn't miss any enemies. As Raria began to look over the newly taken prisoners, the Commandos received a message over their comm-links from Major Camas: The spaceport had been secured, and the few remaining enemies were surrendering.

Raria let out a sigh of relief at the news. This battle was theirs. And though they still had a long way to go until this war was done, at least for now the Eclipse troops could revel in their victory.


	14. Serdica: Aftermath

**A/N** : So, Cyessa. As I'm hoping is obvious now to anyone reading, Cyessa has ESP, at least to one degree or another, and her exact abilities are explained in detail in this chapter. I am including this type of thing, despite it being somewhat Supernatural/Fantastical, because I have to so that my works that take place later in the timeline (specifically post Reaper War stuff, if I ever bother to write those stories) can make more sense. I can't just have a major character have telepathy and clairvoyance and not have it be a part of the setting before hand, now can I?

Don't worry, it will not overload the story. It will most likely just be mentioned casually here and there from now on. Unless of course you want it to be utilized more, in which case please let me know. Please also let me know what you think of this decision in general, as while I'm sure I'll have detractors, I have my reasonings for this.

Lastly, Cyessa was born in 2026, making her 29 when the first section of this chapter takes place. In my stories an asari of around 30 years would look the same as an 8 or 9 year old human child.

 **Definitions:**

 _Adiik_ : Child.

 _Aruetii_ : Outsider or traitor, colloquially a "Non Krogan."

 _Buir_ : Mother/father. Literally: "Parent."

 _Cyar'ika_ : Darling, beloved, sweetheart, etc.

 _Dalyc_ : Female.

 _Di'kut_ : Context dependent. Can mean fool, idiot, useless individual, etc.

 _Ner Vod_ : My brother/sister. Colloquially also "My Friend."

 _Vode_ : Brothers/sisters, comrades.

* * *

 _The heat of the explosions all around me burn my body, daring me to move forward and suffer further, yet I go on._

 _The screams of pain and agony from my comrades roar behind me, pleading for me not to continue, yet I go on._

 _The legions of enemies in front of me with weapons bared strike at me with everything they have, doing all in their power to smite me where I stand, yet I go on._

 _For I have a purpose still not fulfilled, one I will not stop working toward until I fulfil it, or until I am dead._

 _A goal so important the Gods and Goddesses themselves, with all their might, will not keep me from achieving it._

 _And that purpose is simple, it is a goal without which there can be no survival for me, or anything or anyone I hold dear._

 _That goal, in a word, is Glory._

\- An original poem by Talyth Cyessa Tasia

* * *

 **Republic of Serrice, Planet Thessia. 2055. 1335 Local Time.**

High above the sprawling metropolis that was their home City-State, a Krogan and Asari couple were flying in a dark green colored sky car on their way toward their daughter's school. The pair had received a call about their child apparently acting up, and were requested to come and collect her before she caused any more disturbances.

It was about mid day in Serrice, the sky beginning to fill with traffic as people headed out for lunch. The star was just past its zenith, and there was a large amount of cloud cover and a slight breeze in the air, making the mid autumn day feel far colder than normal to the average person on the street.

The pilot of the sky car, an asari dressed in a maroon colored robe with teal colored skin, no facial markings, and dark blue eyes, did not appear happy at all. She had a deep scowl on her face, was breathing heavily, and was even starting to glow as she hit a heavy section of mid air traffic. The asari was in her early Matron years and fairly short for an asari her age, though not so much as to stand out in a crowed.

Her passenger and bondmate however, a krogan dressed in a light brown outfit with a mass of about one hundred and fifty kilograms (which for a krogan was abnormally small) and with dark brown eyes, was utterly calm. He honestly didn't understand what his wife was so angry about; it wasn't as if this was an everyday occurrence.

Sure, their daughter got into her fair share of mischief, but she was far from disobedient or a true troublemaker. She was honestly far better behaved then the krogan himself remembered being, and he was if anything surprised it had taken until his child was nearly thirty before she did something so 'bad' that her parents needed to get involved. What's more, the krogan doubted his daughter had done anything truly horrific, as the asari were far too timid and soft in his mind and freaked out over the slightest of issues.

Such as getting caught in traffic, which was probably why his wife was now glowing nearly as bright as a star and slamming a biotically charged fist on the car's horn screaming at the top of her lungs for the _di'kut_ in front of them to move as the space in front of them opened up, but they for some reason refused to advance.

Taking a deep breath the korgan began, " _Cyar'ika_ , I know that-"

The asari quickly pushed a few commands into the command console of the craft enabling autopilot before turning to her right, pointing a glowing finger at the krogan, and yelling, "Do _Not_ Cyar'ika me Gaul! My day was going badly enough already before this. And I swear if our daughter doesn't have a very good explanation for whatever's happened, there will be some _very_ long _talks_ tonight."

Gaul only shook his head as his wife, Alisa, turned and took back control of the craft as it continued toward it's destination. "Talks" was what the asari called her usual method of punishing their daughter, which consisted of making the child perform all manner of physical activities while Alisa lectured or more often yelled at her for hours on end until their daughter collapsed from exhaustion.

Gaul felt that was a pointless waste of time for several reasons. Firstly, physical exercise was not a negative thing to engage in. Or at least, to Gaul it wasn't. It was merely strengthening the body and spirit; the pain and or exhaustion you felt from it only made one stronger. There was no way the krogan could see that any being would logically be made better in terms of behavior by just making their body better. It didn't cause enough (or even create the proper type of) pain or distress to really change the mindset of the person.

Further, even if it _could_ affect the mind of the individual, it would only be harming them in the long run. If you punished someone by making them exercise, then they associated exercise with negativity, and would certainly not engage in it unless mandated. In which case they would only ever do the absolute minimum to get by. And as the person in question wouldn't try their best, they would only stay the same at best, and get soft and weak at worst.

And if it was one thing Gaul didn't want for his daughter, it was her getting soft or weak. Gaul had tried to reason with his wife, saying merely talking to his daughter was more effective. That whenever she learned her parents were upset with or disappointed with her, she was far more willing to learn from her mistakes and be better behaved in the future.

Alisa would have none of it, and usually it was up to Gaul to discipline their daughter the correct way when they were both alone, and do his best to make sure their child would continue to train her body as hard as she could. She would need to for what was to come.

Eventually, the couple reached their destination, and the asari driver tried and failed to find a parking spot close to the school. Being forced instead to get a spot on the edge of the parking lot.

Their daughter's school was built in the traditional asari fashion: large grey domes many dozens of meters high spread out over a large campus that had a few smaller domes for specialized courses in between the clusters of larger ones. A series of walkways connected the various buildings, and there were terminals set up along the stone paths to help students and parents find their way.

After heading into their daughter's dome, the couple walked through the maze of pristine white hallways until they came to their child's classroom. Upon entering they saw their child's teacher, an asari with dark purple skin, no facial markings, and light green eyes, sitting at her desk with a very upset look on her face. Sitting in a chair in front of her teacher was Cyessa.

The young asari was dressed in a dark blue robe and was staring down at her feet. The child was clearly agitated, as she was kicking the ground as her mother came and sat down next to her while Gaul stood behind his wife. The teacher thanked the parents for coming and apologised for the disturbance but assured it was necessary, as their daughter was suspended from school for the next week.

Gaul asked as his wife glared at their child, "So what exactly did she do?"

The teacher explained, "Earlier today our class was having a philosophical discussion about the nature of Reality and the Universe. Your daughter suggested that the only objective reality was that with which we could directly interact. A classmate of hers countered that all our senses could be wrong, and that we might not be able to trust our senses."

The teacher's glare intensified as she went on, "Your child then got up from her seat, calmly walked over to her classmate, and punched her square in the face just before asking her if the pain she was feeling didn't exist."

Alisa asked in a low voice, "And just what do you have to say for yourself?"

Cyessa defended in a rushed voice, "I was having a debate! I wasn't trying to be mean or hostile! The other kid was just being stupid and I was trying to teach them! If the things we feel and see aren't real, then Nothing is real. And if nothing's real-"

Alisa put her child into a Stasis field (which oddly enough _shocked_ the teacher Gaul noticed) before getting up from her seat and saying before she walked out the door, "I'm going out to the car now before I do something I'm going to regret. Whatever punishment you deem fit for my wayward daughter is fine with me. Just tell my bondmate what it is and have him do whatever is required."

And with that, Alisa left the room.

A few moments later the Stasis field dissipated and Cyessa took several deep breaths once she was free to move again, Gaul kneeling down next to her to make sure she was fine. After his daughter's breathing returned to normal the krogan looked back up at the teacher and asked, "She's suspended for a week you said? Anything else?"

The teacher still for some reason had a shocked look on her face as she shook her head and stated in a low voice, "No...No, nothing else. But I trust after that Cyessa won't cause any further incidents in class?"

Gaul looked to his child and asked calmly, " _Cyess'ika_ , do you promise not to hit anyone else as long as they don't hit you first?"

Cyessa nodded as she looked down with a defeated look on her face, and Gaul asked in a slightly more assertive voice, "And you also promise you'll apologize to the _adiik_ you hit when you get back?"

Cyessa again nodded and Gaul smiled as he looked back to the teacher, "Excellent. If that's all then, I think we'll be off."

Gaul and Cyessa left the classroom. As the two headed toward the sky car Cyessa reached over and latched onto Gaul's hand as she said in a sad voice, " _Buir_ , I'm sorry about this. I was just trying to have a discussion, but then the other _adiik_ started crying and-"

Gaul cut her off in a firm tone, "You can't going around hitting others _Cyess'ika_. The _aruetii_ don't understand how we think, and nor will they. You have to learn to accept them, and do as they deem acceptable when interacting with them. Hitting one of them to prove a point, even a valid one, is never the answer with them. You should have known better."

Cyessa nodded, "I...I know that now _buir_. It won't happen again."

Gaul nodded as they neared their sky car, "Good. Now that all that is out of the way, prepare yourself. I think your _buir dalyc_ is going to put you through one of her "talking" sessions tonight."

Cyessa sighed and Gaul went on, "I know. Still, don't think of it as a punishment, merely training, and it will make it easier."

 _And hopefully less counterproductive. Sometimes I really wonder what Alisa is thinking raising you like this. Good think she has me to set things straight_.

A few moments later the family was on a very long and tense car ride home, all mentally preparing themselves what they were sure was going to be a long and exhausting night.

* * *

 **Asari Medical Frigate _Celaeno_. Hercynia orbit. 2175.**

"What the fuck did you do to my hands!?"

Specialist Cyessa Tasia closed her eyes, sighed, and shook her head in disgust. _Why can none of the_ aruetii _ever understand art_?

The Sniper was laying in a bed with Corra in the one to her right. The Commandos were in a recovery wing of one of the Hospital ships in the Sixth Fleet. The compartment they were in had beds lined up across from each other along opposite bulkheads. The bulkheads were silver in color, and seemed to shine they were so clean.

There were about eighty wounded soldiers in the compartment, which from what Cyessa had heard had been the total number of injured the reinforcements had taken during the entire operation. Doctors and nurses dressed in light green uniforms walked about the injured, many of whom were not even physically hurt so much as suffering from fatigue due to overuse of biotics. Those who suffering from fatigue were already starting to be released if the doctors felt they were well rested enough.

Cyessa was pleasantly surprised the battle had been so easy, as she was honestly expecting a massacre on the part of the less capable mercenaries. There was still a strong possibility for heavy losses in the near future she knew, but the Sniper was still grateful that at least had not happened yet. It had been three days since the battle, and Cyessa had not yet heard what the next target was or where they would be heading next. She only hoped she would be able to take part in the next fight her Squad was in. Cyessa hated the idea of not being there for her _vode._

Looking over to her right, Cyessa opened her eyes and answered in an even tone, "I gave you cybernetic ones. Why, don't you like them?"

Corra looked over at Cyessa, held up the frighteningly realistic drawing the Sniper had made showing her hands now seemed to be made of metal and had all the flesh stripped from them, and said in an incredulous voice, "My hands are Gone! Why would I ever like that?! And what caused me to lose my hands anyway?"

Cyessa shrugged as she leaned back and stared up at the overhead, "Maybe you lost them trying to defuse a bomb. Maybe someone captured you and cut them off so you couldn't use biotics. Maybe you were attacked by some wild animal and lost them trying to fight it off. Who knows? All I know is you asked for a picture and you got one. Don't blame the artist if you don't like the piece Corra."

Corra just stared at Cyessa with an exasperated look before letting out a sigh, throwing the sketch pad down to the foot of the bed, and threw up her hands as she said, "You know what? Whatever. I'm honestly done trying to understand you."

Cyessa shook her head and the two sat in silence for a few moments before Elzia came walking in from Cyessa's left trailing shortly behind a nurse who had light purple skin, no facial markings, and was a few centimeters shorter than Elzia. The nurse seemed to have a very relaxed expression on her face, and her uniform seemed to have a few more wrinkles on it then it did an hour or so ago when she took Elzia off to perform a few tests. The Infiltrator behind her was not dressed in the standard hospital robes they gave the patients however, instead back in her Eclipse armor and, like the nurse, seemed rather serene.

Elzia walked up to the space in between the two Commandos' beds while the nurse continued walking. Cyessa sat back up and asked, "What took you two so long?"

Elzia grinned as she looked back at the nurse, who was now chatting with a couple of her co workers (and possibly giggling Cyessa noticed, though it was hard to tell from her angle), and answered, "Let's just say the tests she ran were a bit more _in depth_ than she originally planned."

Cyessa gave Elzia a disbelieving look as she asked, "Really?"

Elzia just smiled and shrugged.

Cyessa sighed and shook her head. In truth though, the Sniper wasn't surprised. Elzia had been flirting with their nurse all of the past three days, and it never took the Infiltrator long to get into the mind of another being when she set her one track brain to it. It also probably helped Elzia that many of the nurses seemed to be taking an interest in several of the patients who were in decent physical condition. Cyessa herself thought she had gotten a few suggestive looks, though she never returned them.

Unlike Elzia, Cyessa didn't have much of a libido.

Cyessa changed the subject, "Anyway, since you're all dressed up I take it you're out of here?"

Elzia nodded, "Yeah, just wanted to say goodbye to you two before I left. You know, in case I never see either of you ever again."

Cyessa smiled, "Well, thanks for the consideration."

Corra nodded and asked, "Do you have any idea when or where we'll be deployed to next Cyessa?"

The krogan asari let out a long and exhausted sigh. She was glad Corra was at least humoring her, but she was getting tired of having to properly explain her abilities to her friends.

Cyessa explained in a tired voice, "I've told you before Corra; it doesn't work that way. I can't just 'know' the future by thinking about it real hard. It...it just sort of comes to me."

Corra gave her a skeptical look, "So when does it 'come to you' exactly?"

Cyessa explained, "Usually my...feelings for lack of a better term come and go in waves, and usually each wave lasts two or three years, with several months or even years in between. When I'm in a wave I might see a brief vision of what's about to happen. Or I might just have knowledge pop into my head with little to no warning.

"Anything can set these things off. A word, a phrase, touching some random object. Sometimes it's things that are only tangentially connected, but they still show what will or at least _might_ happen. Usually I don't see anything important; just mundane everyday bits of people's lives. Usually people I don't even know."

Elzia asked, "And you have no control over what you see or when, right?"

Cyessa nodded, "Right. I can't predict the outcome of a battle most of the time, nor can I tell which soldiers out on some random recon mission might get shot, or which group might never even see combat. I might be able to tell you what you'll have for lunch next week if I'm lucky, but my grasp over telling the future is pretty poor. So, sadly, I can't tell you what the winning lottery numbers will be next week or which Skyball team will the Galactic Cup."

Corra gave the Sniper a curious look and asked, "So what good are your supposed abilities then?"

Cyessa shrugged, "I can sense where people are around me pretty well most of the time, and that I can do so whenever or wherever I like as long as I have enough time, peace, and quiet to concentrate, as well as hear other people's thoughts if I'm listening in. I can also see into the past if I concentrate hard enough and the universe allows me a snapshot or two. Also, who knows? I just _might_ get lucky one day and know exactly how a battle will turn out and maybe find a way to change the outcome if it doesn't favor us. It's happened once or twice."

Elzia was curious at that, "So, the future can be changed then?"

Cyessa nodded, "Of course it can. What I see aren't so much direct visions of what _will_ happen so much as what _might_ happen under certain circumstances. The future is not set _ner vod_. We can always change it if we try hard enough."

Elzia responded as she turned to leave, "Fascinating. And on that note, I think I better get going. You two take care."

The bedridden Commandos bid their friend farewell. As soon as the Infiltrator was gone Corra handed the sketchbook back to the Sniper and asked Cyessa in a polite but obviously strained voice, "Now then, if you would be so kind, can I have a picture that _doesn't_ have any cybernetics, scarring, deformities, horrific injuries, or anything of that nature?"

Cyessa took the pad, turned to a blank page, and began to outline her next piece as she commented, "Sure, if that's really what you want. It's gonna be pretty boring though."

Corra replied in a tired voice, "Honestly? After all we've been through over the last few weeks, I could do with boring for a while."

* * *

 **Star Tours vessel _Tzarina_. Hercynia orbit.**

Dressed in a pair of off duty fatigues, Private Leria Reya walked down the passageway toward Allyna's quarters. The tall muscular asari was in a fairly good mood overall, though the conversation she was hoping to have with her Squad Leader was making her feel a bit anxious.

Since the victory over the pirates, moral for the Eclipse forces had soared. They had barely suffered any losses and had obliterated the enemy with minimal effort. Their Commander had showed at least some competence leading a force several times what she was used to. And better yet, the Second Fleet had arrived in the system shortly after the battle with reinforcements for both the space and ground troops.

The Thessian militia's had taken over the responsibilities of maintaining law and order in Serdica until the local authorities could get back on their feet, allowing the mercenaries to return to their transports and enjoy some well earned (and in most cases much needed) rest. Leria and the other seasoned troops knew things would probably not be nearly as easy in the future, but it was still good to enjoy their victory while they could.

Still, as the tall, muscular, violet skinned asari stood in front of Allyna's door, she couldn't help but feel her nerves getting to her. She didn't understand why, as Allyna had always been a good and understanding superior. Then again, one thing Leria had learned was that officers who seemed understanding and compassionate, and even ones who seemed to be your friend, often turned on you if you showed the slightest hint of disobedience or even disagreement with their plans and mindset.

Leria didn't think Allyna was like that after all they had been through, but she had felt that way about several officers who had screwed her over or stabbed her in the back. She didn't want to repeat those experiences. Still, there was something else she didn't want to experience even more. So, after taking a deep breath Leria activated the door controls and entered the room.

The rooms aboard the cruise ship were every bit as luxurious as one would expect of a Star Tours vessel. Immediately as one walked in was a bed large enough to fit three beings comfortably with more pillows than would ever be logically needed and very expensive and comfortable sheets. Across from the bed was a vid screen that had an impressive selection of vids and covered a large section of the bulkhead.

Beyond the bed was a large desk that was build into the bulkhead that had an extranet monitor (which sadly was not online due to the continued extranet blackout) and enough free space to allow for whatever task the occupant wanted. Across from the desk was the restroom, which had two sinks, a bathtub that also served as a hot tub, and a shower.

All the quarters on the ship were at least as nice as this one, making this deployment by far the most luxurious Leria had ever been on.

As soon as Leria walked in she spotted Allyna, who was sitting at the desk cleaning her Acolyte pistol. The Captain was dressed in a light grey shirt and light blue sweat pants. Once she heard the door open, Allyna turned and smiled as Leria entered.

Getting up from her seat, Allyna walked over to the bed and greeted warmly, "Ah, hello. Something I can do for you or are you just saying 'hi'?"

Leria stood up straight, put her hands behind her back, and answered in a low tone, "Actually, I was um...was hoping to talk to you about how we decide who's on point during our missions."

Allyna sat down on the side of the bed facing Leria and gave her a curious look, "Alright. What about it?"

Leria answered, "I was hoping it could stop. This random lot thing...It…" Leria sighed and looked at the deck with a defeated look on her face, "I know you academy graduates have your fancy rules and whatnot, and you probably won't want to change a system that's worked for us for a while. Still, after yesterday, I think it would be best if we stopped it."

Allyna nodded in understanding, "You're worried Raria's not going to make it the next time she's leading us."

Leria gave Allyna an ashamed look but nodded, "Yes. And believe me, I _know_ how this sounds. It's not like all of us aren't in danger every time we go out. And yes, it was stupid of us to get _involved_ but...well, we just couldn't help it I guess. And yes, I'm not being the best example of a cold blooded Commando who puts Mission and Duty before Sisterhood, but I can't really help that either."

Leria went on in a somewhat more confident voice, "Besides, there would be a good reason not to have her lead out. Like Corra pointed out, she _is_ our Medic. We're all capable of first aide sure, but it's her specific job and-"

Allyna raised a hand and cut Leria off, "Alright alright, you've made your point. We're done with random lots."

Leria didn't bother to hide her joy or surprise at the news, "Really? You...you're fine with this?"

Allyna nodded and gave her a reassuring look, "Unlike a lot of other so called _fancy academy graduates_ , I'm not completely bonded to my own idiotic ideas, and it would make sense to keep our medic as safe as possible."

Allyna gave Leria a playful look as she added, "You're right about another thing though: it was pretty stupid of you two to get so heavily involved one of you would make a suggestion like this. You two plan on getting Bonded soon, or do you do this with all the lovers you take while on the job?"

Leria couldn't help but blush at that. Partially out of being called out. Partly on how close she and Raria seemed to be becoming seemingly without the tall muscular asari noticing. And partly for ever doubting Allyna would be understanding of her situation.

 _Last time I ever doubt her. Should have known better. When has she ever let me or the others down?_

Leria answered shyly, "This is a pretty rare event actually. As for the future between me and Raria...who knows? Haven't really planned that far ahead yet."

Allyna nodded, "Well then, that's settled. I'll bring this up with the others as soon as we're all back together. Hopefully we'll get a volunteer. If not...we'll figure it out. Anything else?"

Leria smiled and shook her head, "Not really. Thanks for being so understanding on this."

Allyna stood and went back over to the desk, "No problem. It was a pretty stupid method anyway. Only reason I stuck with it was because it was how we settled things when I first got put in a Squad."

Allyna pointed at Leria as she sat down and said, "Just be sure to pay it forward one day when you're leading your own team."

Leria nodded as she turned to go, "I will."

As the tall muscular asari headed back to her room she couldn't help but feel as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. A weight she didn't even know she had been carrying. She was concerned for Raria's safety of course, that was why she had done this, but she didn't realize that knowing her lover would be at least a small bit safer from now on would matter this much to her.

 _I guess I really am a terrible Commando. Oh well. I'd rather have a soul and defend the people I care about then be a heartless professional._

Eventually Leria arrived back at her quarters, which had the exact same layout as Allyna's, and found Raria laying on the bed watching a vid. The Medic was dressed in a pair of light blue shorts and matching shirt that Leria couldn't help but notice were a size or two too small for Raria, and showed off her excellent figure. Her lover smiled and nodded as she entered the compartment. As Leria sat down on the bed and took off her boots she couldn't help but notice Raria had put on some stupid Drama piece.

 _No wonder she's always so depressed. All she watches is Dark and grimy vids and never even bothers with any happier shows. How do you ever expect to be happy if all you ever surround yourself with is negativity?_

Curling up next to her lover, Leria used her omni tool to pull up the list of available programs and quickly selected something lighthearted. As soon as the screen changed though Raria slapped the tall violet asari and protested, "Hey, I was watching that! And you _know_ I hate Comedies!"

Leria just pulled Raria into a tight embrace and responded, "You need to lighten up some love. You can't do that if you're only thinking about how negative life can get. You need to take your mind off things every once in awhile."

Raria protested, "And the best way to do that is watching people behave in unbelievably stupid ways and laugh at their misfortune?"

Leria sighed before looking down at the beautiful asari in her arms. Leria then smiled and began in a suggestive tone as she ran her large callused hands over the asari beneath her, "Well, I suppose there are _other_ ways to take your mind off things."

Raria smiled as she turned the vid screen off before responding, "Oh really?" Raria then brought her hand up behind Leria's head to bring it down to hers, after which they engaged in a long and passionate kiss. Breaking away Raria asked in a husky voice, "Like what?"

Leria responded as she went forward for another kiss, "I'm sure we'll figure something out."

The two lovers spent the next several hours focusing only on each other.

* * *

 **Republic of Serdica, Planet Hercynia. 1525 Local Time.**

Major Irri Camas stood at the front entrance of the spaceport as the long, silver colored and rectangular shaped asari naval shuttle touched down in front of her. The star was shining brilliantly in the early afternoon, a slight breeze and the occasional cloud helping to keep the Major cool in her armor suit. So nice was the day that if Irri didn't stare at the nearby half destroyed spires, the shell casings that littered the ground, or the occasional smouldering ruin that was once a sky car she could almost forget a major battle had recently been fought here.

A few dozen meters away Admiral Ashara Vau exited the craft with four Commandos Irri could tell were from the Republic of Serrice from their dark blue uniforms. Vau herself was in her Armali red fatigues as she walked over to Irri's position.

In the three days since the battle the Sixt Fleet had been relieved by the Second, and the relieved Sixth had taken custody of the captured raiders. Most likely to interrogate the officers for any useful information Irri assumed. In that time there had been no orders from Admiral Vau. No clue as to what their next move was, or even if there _would be_ a next move. For all Irri knew High Command would just call it all off after their victory here and forget about the whole ordeal.

However, after Vau had ordered Irri to meet her at the Serdican spaceport, Irri had gotten the feeling this was far from over.

Irri snapped to attention and greeted her superior as soon as Vau was about thirty or so paces away, "Welcome to Serdica, Admiral."

Vau waved her off and spoke as the two entered the building, which was as damaged as any other building in the area, "You can knock off all that formal shit Major. I can't stand it and just find it all tiresome."

Irri relaxed somewhat as she walked alongside Vau and the two surveyed the destroyed front section of the spaceport, "Very well ma'am. If I could ask, just why did you want to meet planetside and not talk over the vid-comm?"

Vau answered as she looked over the building, "I wanted to see the battlefield myself. See just how bad things were. See…" Vau was quiet for several moments before continuing, "See or at least get some idea what it is all this was like."

Vau looked over to Irri and said, "In any case, I also need to send a report back to High Command recommending as to whether or not we should continue the war, or whether or not it can even be won. I would like your input on the forces we faced off against. What exactly did you think of the enemy?"

Irri answered as they continued through the complex, "Impossible to say after just one battle ma'am. Still, in the previous fight they had no discipline, organization, or will to continue in the face of significant opposition. A few minutes after my troops stormed this building, they all began to surrender."

Vau nodded and asked, "And their overall quality?"

Irri explained, "The pirates we're facing here are nothing like the raiders who have been attacking human business and colonial interests lately. They're poorly armed. Many of them have no armor at all, and if they do it's also of extremely low quality."

Vau nodded as the group made their way to the upper level, "So you believe this force could be defeated then?"

Irri nodded, "If they're all as poorly trained and equipped as the ones we fought here? Absolutely. Still, that's assuming we don't encounter more elite forces, and can be easily reinforced and resupplied. And that's only on the ground; I can't say for the enemy's naval strength ma'am."

Vau gave a small laugh and reported, "They have about as much combat effectiveness in space as they do on the ground. Their weapons barely damaged any of my ships and not one was lost. Their own are poorly armed and armored. I doubt we'll have much trouble ending these scum."

Irri nodded as the group came to a halt near a boarding area, "So we're continuing the campaign ma'am?"

Vau gave a serious look and nodded, "Most likely. I'll recommend to High Command we do at least, so as to not have to do this all again a decade from now. And even if Command doesn't authorize a major invasion of the Terminus Systems they've already ordered a major rescue mission be undertaken."

Irri was confused at that, "Ma'am?"

Vau explained, "Several hundred asari were captured by the enemy during the invasion and are now most likely being sold into slavery, or will be soon if we can't stop it. We're still in the process of interrogating the prisoners, but we have been able to discover the location of a major enemy base. Even if the abductees aren't there, it should house the information as to just where they were taken along with the locations of several other hostile bases."

Irri was skeptical, "Are we sure this intel is good Admiral?"

Vau gave her a deadly serious look, "I can assure you Major, it is. You're probably better off not knowing how it was acquired, but I'm confident it's valid."

Irri felt sick thinking about the implications to that statement as Vau went on, "In any case, ready your people Major. I'm taking a Task Force to personally manage this operation, and seeing as yours are the best people I have, I want your troops on the ground to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible."

Irri nodded and turned to exit the building and call a shuttle. The Major only hoping things would turn out alright for her soldiers and the people they were about to be sent to rescue.


	15. Having a Krogan over for Dinner

**A/N** : This is yet another chapter I'm not really happy with, but it's been far too long since I posted last and I just want to get something out there at this point. This chapter introduces a character and organization that may pop up a bit every now and again, but will sadly not become relevant to the story and universe until the final act of the story, assuming of course I ever get that far and stay true to what few plans I have for this train wreck. Still, set up has to happen at some point right?

Anyway, shout outs in the next chapter (whenever that gets posted, probably A While from now since I want to get another chapter of my other main project out before too long) for whoever can identify the game series I stole the name of the aforementioned organization from. I'll give you all a hint: it's the same one that I've referenced/stolen from numerous times over the course of my multi-chapter stories.

 **Definitions** :

 _Ad'ika_ : Kid, lad, boy, sweetie, darling, son, daughter, child, etc.

 _Buir_ : Mother/father. Literally: "Parent."

 _Di'kut_ : Context dependent. Can mean fool, idiot, useless individual, etc.

 _Haar'chak_ : Damn it!

 _Vor entye_ : Thank you. Literally "I accept a debt."

* * *

 _"Whenever someone tells me something is impossible it pisses me off so much I have to force myself not to hit them. We have seen time and time again that words like 'impossible' have no real meaning. We used to think that traveling faster than light was impossible, but it turns out that all you need to do is use any of the readily available fuels floating around in space and build an engine capable of harnessing their energy without exploding._

 _"We used to think colonizing other planets was impossible as surely none would ever be habitable, but we found three other planets in our own home Nebula alone that could support our species without the need for any terraforming. We used to think an interstellar civilization would be impossible to maintain because of Time Dilation and Special Relativity, but then both those concepts turned out to be nonsense when we found out that Time and Space are two totally separate concepts and learned how to build clocks on our spaceships that weren't constantly malfunctioning._

 _"My point is Claudia that nothing is impossible if you're willing to work for it. We're going to find out what is causing the Supernovae, the Wormholes, and the Dark Energy buildup. We may not like what we find and wish we hadn't, but we'll get our answers one way or another."_

\- Doctor Derra Nuranis, Director of SRPA Station Three, explaining to her sister Claudia why she is confident her people will be able to explain the nearly exponential rise in Spacial Anomalies over the past century.

* * *

 **Republic of Etheai, Planet Sanves. 4423 Local Time.**

Matriarch Aethyta, suitcase in hand and dressed in a dark brown robe, exited the spaceport terminal building and began to look around for her daughter's sky car. After a few minutes the Matriarch set her luggage down, sent Derra a quick message, and took in the site of the City-State before her as she waited for pickup.

Etheai was a metropolis, with beautiful spire structures stretching as far as the eye could see. With it being the middle of the night on this part of the planet, the structures were lit up and glowing brilliantly against the backdrop of an all black sky. Fleets of sky cars flew about the City-State in neat orderly rows. The night was warm and humid making Aethyta glad she had chosen one of her lighter outfits for the trip as soon as she came outside.

After a few minutes of waiting a crimson colored sky car landed a few meters away from where the Matriarch was standing. As soon as the transport landed an asari dressed in a light tan robe exited the craft and jogged over toward Aethyta with a wide and bright smile on her face.

Aethyta and the asari embraced in a tight and loving hug with the other asari being the first to speak, "Goddess is it good to see you again _buir_."

Aethyta said as she pulled away, "Good to see you too _Der'ika_. You bring your lover with you, or is she hiding out in a secret underground bunker somewhere?"

Derra laughed a bit at that. Derra had Aethyta's skin tone, no facial markings, light blue eyes, was a few centimeters shorter than Aethyta, and had a slightly more well developed body.

Derra shook her head as she and Aethyta headed toward the sky car, "She's waiting for us back home. And please don't make _too much_ of an entrance when we get there; she isn't expecting to have a Krogan over for dinner."

Aethyta asked, "She doesn't know I'm a Krogan? Just what _have_ you told her about me then?"

Derra explained, "Not much. I've refrained from telling her too many stories about you so far so she doesn't have a panic attack as soon as you walk through the door. Wouldn't want her thinking you'll rip her heart out and eat it in front of her if she says something you don't like."

As the pair entered the craft Aethyta sighed and shook her head, " _Haar'chak ad'ika_ , why can't you just forget that story about what happened on Vatar?"

Derra gave her a smile as the craft took off, "Because it's far too much fun to mess with you. Anyway, how was your trip?"

Aethyta shrugged as she looked out the window at the city below, "Boring, tiring, I want to smash someone's head in over all the hassle at the spaceports, and I'm already wondering what's happening back on Illium. Nothing special really."

Derra asked as they entered a lane filled with heavy traffic, "How bad are things over there."

Aethyta answered, "Not as bad as they could be, but everyone's got their crests in a tangle about that dust up along the border. _Di'kuts_. You'd think they've never seen a war break out before."

Derra commented, "I see. Still, nothing new or exciting then?"

Aethyta looked over and smiled, "Oh, actually one or two things, but I don't want to spoil a good dinner table discussion here. What about you? The people here still giving you trouble still over pairing up with another asari?"

Derra shook her head as she pulled out of the traffic lane and headed toward an especially tall spire, "Thankfully no. Most of the heat's tapered off, and if nothing else we're both old enough so that at least we don't have to worry about people calling us a couple of 'stupids kids' getting in over our heads."

Aethyta gave her daughter an understanding nod. Derra was in a unique place for an asari. At three hundred and six years of age, she was still young enough to be considered a Maiden and free to engage in all the activities people in that age group were known for, but also old enough so that if she chose to settle down and Bond with someone as she had, then society at large would have little issue with this.

The asari, as a people and on the whole, were rather strict in terms of societal expectations. If you were a Maiden, then you were to travel abroad, work in dead end job after dead end job if you weren't in school, and do exactly as you were told by your elders. You never bothered to get a job that may turn into a permanent career, and you _certainly_ never settled down and Bonded with anyone.

If you were a Matron you were to settle down and have a family as soon as you had a decent paying job. It didn't really matter if you found a mate, but you Were going to reproduce. It didn't matter if you wanted to or if you were capable of handling children, you were going to be a parent. Two asari Bonding as was the case with Derra was... _tolerated_ on most worlds as long as any children the two had were not fathered by either, rather they were expected to get a member of another species as a 'donor' of sorts.

And when you reached the last third of your life you were going to become a leader and try and pass on your so called 'wisdom' to all those around you and dictate to them how to live their lives as if you had _any_ idea what was best for them. As if you had somehow accumulated _any_ real understanding of how the universe worked by just doing exactly what was expected of you.

Aethyta hated the entire system, but there was little she could do about it. She had tried to get other Matriarchs to see how wasteful and foolish it all was and to try and reform some aspects of her people's society, but it had failed miserably and cost her what little respect she had earned among her peers.

Shaking the bad memories from her head, Aethyta continued to look out over the City-State as her daughter landed the craft on a landing pad on the top of the spire.

Unbuckling her seatbelt Derra announced, "Well, home sweet home."

Aethyta looked around and noticed the pad was only big enough for the two sky cars currently parked atop it, and that a walkway lead directly to the penthouse of the structure.

Aethyta exited the sky car, retrieved her suitcase, and walked beside her daughter along the walkway into the building. After entering the apartment, Aethyta took a long look around. The Matriarch had just entered the living room, which had a series of couches and reclining chairs arranged in a semicircle around a glass table and in front of a large vid screen to her immediate left. To Aethyta's right there was a hallway which led to the main bedrooms and bathrooms.

Ahead of Aethyta was a card table that had holographic displays built into it, and a bar area adjacent to that. Further on was a large circular hand carved wooden table which already had plates, silverware, and glasses set out. Further back was a fully stocked and spacious kitchen with shiny new appliances.

Standing next to the dining room table, dressed in a dark blue robe, was an asari about Derra's height who had a very nervous expression on her face. The asari had light blue skin, no facial markings, brown eyes, and a figure Aethyta found rather attractive.

 _Damn. Nice work_ ad'ika.

Aethyta smiled as she looked over at Derra and asked, "I take it that's her?"

Derra nodded as she led her _buir_ over toward the other asari after taking her suitcase and setting it down next to a couch.

Derra introduced the two as soon as they were all close enough to talk, " _Buir_ , I'd like you to meet Lori Thanolis, my lover and future Bondmate. Lori, this is my-" Derra had to stop herself and search for the appropriate word for a moment before continuing, " _mother_ , Aethyta Nuranis of Clan Ravanor."

Aethyta gave a warm smile and extended her arm, and after a few seconds Lori reached out and shook Aethyta's hand. Aethyta noticed her palm was rather sweaty, and her grip a bit weak.

 _No need to be nervous_ ad'ika _, I'm not going to bite or anything._

Aethyta considered muttering those words aloud but thought better of it, as she wasn't sure how this poor creature in front of her would take it. After that was out of the way Derra suggested Aethyta and Lori sit while she went to get the food, but Lori quickly volunteered to do it in a rushed and shaky voice.

After she was out of earshot Aethyta couldn't help but shake her head and comment, "Skittish _ad'ika_. Very skittish."

Derra sighed and replied, "Go easy on her; she has every right to be after the way our meeting with her family went."

Aethyta asked as she took a seat next to her daughter, "And how exactly did that go?"

Derra shook her head, "Not well. Though to her family's credit they at least waited an hour before they started shouting. Still, I wish they could have held off on the throwing objects part until after we had left."

Aethyta was angered at that, "They _threw_ things at you?"

Derra nodded and replied in a shallow voice, "Yeah. Nothing hit either of us, but...well, as I'm sure you can imagine, Lori wasn't very responsive for a while after that."

Derra put a hand on Aethyta's shoulder and pleaded, "So please _buir_ , _whatever_ happens here and _however_ you feel about her, could you not get too emotional tonight?"

Aethyta gave a nod, "Sure thing _ad'ika_. "

Lori then came out with a tray of fish held lengthwise under one arm and a bowl of vegetables curled up in the other. She was walking rather quickly and nearly spilled the vegetables when she went to put them down. After apologising and carefully setting the fish down she rushed back into the kitchen, Derra following her after giving Aethyta an apologetic smile.

After her daughter left her alone Aethyta sat back in her chair and gazed first at the food in front of her (which the Matriarch thought looked rather appetizing) and then around the apartment. The Matriarch eventually hearing whispers coming from the kitchen. Aethyta couldn't make out exactly what was being said, but it didn't take a genius to figure out Derra was probably reassuring Lori everything was going to be alright.

Aethyta let out a long and exhausted sigh. Though this was far from the worst dinner she'd ever had, it was far from the best as well. When she was meeting with the future Bondmates of her other daughters neither of them had been anywhere near this nervous. Granted, neither of them had been asari, but that shouldn't have mattered. In Aethyta's mind, you always at least got to know another person a little before acting a certain way around them.

Then again, if things did go as bad as Derra said they did with the kid's family, Aethyta couldn't really blame her too much. Matriarchs were notoriously judgmental for the most part, and this one had no way to know Aethyta was any different aside from her lover's words and memories, which could reasonably assumed to be very well slanted in Aethyta's favor.

Resolving to do as much as she could to salvage the evening, Aethyta took a deep breath and sat up straight as her daughter and Lori came back out with a few pitchers of water, a bottle of wine, and a few other random dishes. After the table was fully set and everyone had a full plate of food the two lovers sat across from Aethyta and began to slowly pick at their food, neither able to look the Matriarch in the eye just yet. Aethyta awkwardly began to eat, and found that, if nothing else, the food was very well done.

After a few minutes Aethyta asked, "So, Lori was it? Exactly what do you do for a living?"

Lori looked up and smiled nervously as she answered, "I'm a Personnel Resource Consultant."

Aethyta gave a small smile and commented, "So you help morons deal with management issues any normal, rational thinking person should be able to handle themselves. Interesting."

Lori nodded and relaxed slightly as she replied, "More or less. I wouldn't say it's as simple as all that, but I've seriously wondered if most of my clients qualify as 'intelligent life' more than once."

Derra spoke up in a lighthearted voice, "Lori here could tell you some pretty crazy stories." Looking over at her lover Derra suggested, "Why don't you share some?"

Lori shook her head and looked back down at her food, "Oh, I...I don't think-"

Derra cut her off, "No, really. Tell her about the hotel owners whose employees were all drinking and getting high _while they were on duty_ , or the _di'kut_ who broke just about every law against employee harassment there is. Or even better-"

Lori spoke up, "OK, ok." Taking a deep breath, Lori began to share a few tales from her work, and actually began to lighten up a bit. Before long, she actually seemed rather relaxed and even comfortable around her future in-law. Aethyta was glad for that.

After Lori was done speaking Derra asked her _buir_ about the stories she wished to talk about from earlier. Aethyta smiled and told them both to relax and pour themselves a fresh glass of wine before beginning with the incident where she had saved the life of an Eclipse Commando who had been shot in a botched hostage rescue attempt. Both of her hosts were shocked at that, especially at the part of Aethyta being held at gunpoint, but as the story ended well enough they quickly calmed down.

Until that is Aethyta recalled the incident where another Commando wearing Justicar robes carrying a Warp Sword took out a squad of mercenaries who were getting far too rowdy in a matter of seconds. Both Derra and Lori paled at the tale, though relaxed a bit when Aethyta told them the asari in question apparently somehow _wasn't_ a member of the Order.

Derra gave a confused look and asked, "A...an asari carrying a Warp Sword who _isn't_ a Justicar? Is...is that even _legal_ _buir_? "

Aethyta shrugged, "No laws against what kinds of firearms you can own, so I'm guessing the same applies to Warp Swords. Still, Hell of a thing huh?"

Derra nodded but it was Lori who asked, "And where is this...Not Justicar now?"

Aethyta shrugged again and picked up her nearly empty wine glass and answered, "Off fighting the slavers in the Traverse I'm guessing. Same Commando and a few friends came back a week or two later and apologized for the incident only to get called back just as they all got their drinks. Shame too, because one of my girls seemed _really_ interested in that one."

After finishing her wine Aethyta asked, "So anyway, what did you get for dessert?"

Derra smiled and replied as she got up, "Lori made a cake."

Aethyta gave Lori an appraising look, "Made? As in homemade or from a box?"

Lori gave a smile and answered, "Homemade actually. Old family recipe. I can't stand that instant ready crap."

Aethyta smiled, "So I'm guessing you did most of the cooking then?"

Lori nodded and Aethyta couldn't help but smile, "Well in that case _ad'ika_ , I think you just got my approval."

Lori's face lit up as she asked, "Really?"

Aethyta nodded and said as Derra came out with a cake, "Really. I love my daughter, really I do, but despite years of trying on my part to teach her, she can't cook a decent meal to save her life. It'll be nice being able to finally have good food that doesn't come from a restaurant every time I visit."

Derra shook her head as she set the dessert down, and the three spent the next several hours enjoying each other's company.

* * *

After everything was cleaned and put away Aethyta sat on one of the luxurious couches with Derra sitting next to her. Both asari had drinks in hand and were enjoying a Skyball game playing on the vid-screen. Just as the channel cut to a commercial Lori came up behind where Derra was sitting, leaned down to give her lover a kiss, and announced she was going to bed before heading off.

After she was out of earshot Derra turned to Aethyta and asked, "So? What do you think of her?"

Aethyta smiled, "Honestly? Hard to tell after just one meeting, but I think you made a good choice _ad'ika_. I hope it all works out for you two."

Derra beamed at that, " _Vor entye buir_. It...it really means a lot to hear you say that."

Aethyta nodded, "Don't mention it. Besides, it's not like you need my approval or advice anyway." Aethyta's joyful expression quickly faded and she looked away as she went on quietly, "I don't exactly have the greatest history when it comes to relationships."

Derra reached over and put her hand on Aethyta's shoulder and consoled, "You've done well enough. Three out of four of your Bonds being long and loving is better than most could have managed I think. And even with...well... _her_... you were always as devoted to her as you could have been. It wasn't your fault what happened."

Aethyta sighed and looked back at her daughter, "I guess. Anyway, that's all in the past. Right here, right now, I'm truly happy for you two. You gonna do a ceremony, or just a few quick vows?"

Derra shrugged and responded after she took a sip of her drink, "Not sure. Probably not going to do anything too big, but if we do any type of celebration, I'll be sure to send out invitations."

Aethyta nodded and said before finishing her drink, "Just be prepared to have explain it to Apsaras several times, in very loud, certain, and if need be threatening tones that you don't want to do anything flashy if you decide to have a little family get together. You know how she loves a party."

Derra nodded, "Yes. Still, she'd also be crushed if we didn't do _something_ you know."

Aethyta sighed and shook her head slightly, "Yeah, well, let's just hope that 'something' doesn't end with two city blocks getting burned to the ground like the last time we were all together."

Derra gave her _buir_ a slightly disapproving look, "It was Galen's funeral _buir_ , you can't blame her for getting carried away. She loved him almost as much as Claudia did."

Aethyta changed the subject, "Yeah, I know. Anyway, how's work going? Any major galaxy shattering revelations you've come across or some ancient secret recently found out? I get you probably can't say much, but anything is better than nothing."

Derra was quiet for several seconds as she stared off into space and finished her drink, no doubt formulating as intelligent a response as she could without giving anything away. Aethyta was annoyed by this but couldn't say she was surprised.

Doctor Derra Nuranis was the Director of the local branch of the Special Research Projects Administration, or SRPA as they were more commonly known. SRPA was roughly the Asari Republics' equivalent of the Salarian STG. Only instead of being a clandestine agency rumored to be conducting highly unethical and immoral experiments or uplifting pre-spaceflight species, SRPA's work consisted mainly of acquiring and reverse engineering technology left behind by the countless space faring species that had vanished over the eons.

Some bits of research however, like the type of stuff Aethyta was fairly sure Derra was placed in charge of, were kept under wraps. As much as research into why stars were suddenly exploding with little to no warning and tares in the fabric of reality were popping up out of nowhere could be kept secret at least. Derra never talked much about her work, and Aethyta had learned long ago that there were many things best left alone, but every now and again she just couldn't help asking what was going on in the galaxy.

After a few minutes Derra answered while still looking away, "Honestly? Things are getting...scary."

Aethyta was very curious now, "Scary?"

Derra nodded and turned to face Aethyta as she said, "Yes. You saw the news a few weeks back how, in less than a week, a _dozen_ stars went Supernova?"

Aethyta nodded and Derra went on, "Well, none of them were supposed to be anywhere near capable of that yet. What's worse, with those the total number of estimated Supernovae for the past year is now nearing _twenty_. That's... _not good_ _buir_. "

Aethyta asked, "Why not?"

Derra explained, "Because that puts us far above the expected number of Supernovae expected for the year, which was already near the upper ends of what is thought normal. Do you really not understand just how _bad_ this is?"

Aethyta gave her a curious look, "Derra, I don't exactly keep up with major cosmic phenomena. Mind explaining just what is going on and why you're so scared?"

Derra took a deep breath and began, "In short? The galaxy is falling apart. To put things into perspective, about two centuries ago we believed that there should only be about one Supernova every year or so. One hundred years ago we thought there were about three to five every year. Now? Now we believe there are about five to ten every year. Can you imagine that? Between five and ten stars blowing up _every year_ , many of which with little to no warning. One day they're perfectly normal, and the next they're gone."

Aethyta nodded, "OK. Just why is that so scary? Stars blow up. Big deal. As long as it's a relatively rare thing what's it matter? Aren't there plenty more stars in the galaxy?"

Derra explained, "It matters because we're _losing_ stars. There are only three to five new solar masses created each year. This _shouldn't be happening_! Our galaxy is Far too young for this to be natural. And that's not even getting into the increasing number of Wormholes opening up across the cosmos and where they might lead, or worse, what hostile creatures they may bring us into contact with."

Derra sighed and finished, "And we still have no explanation as to the massive Dark Energy buildup that's gone on for the last few centuries, or what consequences, if any, that may bring. I'm confident we'll figure out the answers, but I have no idea when. And honestly? I'm terrified that when we _do_ find the answers that we will be too late to do anything about it. For all we know this could just keep escalating until there are simply no more stars left. And at the rate it's going...This is scary stuff _buir_ , and I would be lying if I said I wasn't terrified as to what will happen over the next few centuries if we don't figure it out soon."

Aethyta nodded, put her hand on her daughter's shoulder, and consoled, "You and your people are smart _ad'ika_. You'll get it solved and fix whatever's wrong. I know it."

Derra nodded and the two sat and continued to watch the game until it became clear which team would win.

Getting up from the couch Aethyta stretched and said as she headed towards her room, "Well, I'm turning in. See ya in the morning. Or whatever counts as morning on this planet."

Derra replied as Aethyta went down the hall, "Good night _buir_. Thanks again for being so supportive."

Just before Aethyta was out of earshot she heard her daughter call out to her, "And _buir_? Thanks especially for not asking about our sex life! I don't think Lori would have been able to handle it."

Aethyta could only shake her head and smirk as she headed towards her room.


	16. Note from the Author

Hello there everyone. As you can see, this is just a quick little blurp about where the story is. Sadly, I have not really been able to get much writing done lately, on this story or any other. I don't really know why, as things lately have actually been the best they have for me in quite some time in terms of my job or personal life. I just sit down in front of my lap top and...nothing happens.

I want anyone who enjoys this series to know it is NOT dead. I just...am stepping away for a while is all. No idea how long. A few weeks, months, no clue. Partly because I think I need a break from ME in general, and because I know for a fact there is no way I can get either of my current projects done in under a year. And not to get too much into my real life situation but...not getting those stories done before then is kinda of a necessity, as I have no idea where I'll be and if I'll even be able to write after that.

Sorry I don't have more positive news. Hopefully I'll be able to get something typed up and posted, in this fandom or some other, fairly soon.

Meantime, I thank any and all who are reading this for their support. I hope to see you all soon. So until then, May the Force be with you all.

RED


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